


You're Not the Only One

by arcanicEmbers, L (JoelMatthews)



Category: Death Note, Death Note & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - L is Kira, Alternate Universe - Light Is Not Kira, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Gen, I'll let you know in the description for a chapter if any warnings apply for that specific part, Kira!L, L is Kira, Lawlight does not happen nor are any sexual relationships displayed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-09-25
Packaged: 2018-07-20 00:22:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 28,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7383484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arcanicEmbers/pseuds/arcanicEmbers, https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoelMatthews/pseuds/L
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Theoretically, the world's greatest detective could also write the perfect crime.</p><p>[On hiatus until: ???]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. arvc-5

**Author's Note:**

> Edit 7/7/2016 - NOTE: I have decided that I will update this fic at 12:00 AM EST every Monday when I can. If I am unable to then, whenever possible on Monday I will update it. Stay tuned!
> 
> No warnings apply to this chapter.

     The final cube on a stack of sugar had been placed, balancing in a teacup that he had for some reason filled with coffee. The corner was imbalanced, and it slipped into the liquid below. The man behind the balancing act had to wipe the splash from his cheek with his thumb.

     He was the world's greatest detective, known worldwide simply as "L". _Justice,_ he could've said. _Justice is what I'm after. I do this for the good of the world._ ... That might as well be told to everyone in the world, and he was sure nobody would believe it; to be frank, he was bored. The cases he solved were never for justice. If they were, he would have taken on so much more than just the ones that interested him.

     And he'd been thinking of that, too. He was writing the perfect crime in his head constantly, then unraveling it. Finding the evidence he left in the battlefield of his mind, like a constant practice chess game played against himself.

     All he needed for it to be a crime, at this point, was for someone to take the other piece. There were no white and black; only red and blue. For a while, blue has always won, but that was because he often favored that color. That, and every case had an antagonist that refused to play the game. In other words, none of them had fun being chased.

     He was waiting for someone to hold the reigns of that red horse, charging in as the knight. Nobody took it. Nobody had the opportunity to wield it so skillfully as he had his, and he supposed that was why he was always charging through with flying shades of blue.

     A conclusion was just about to form in his mind when what looked like a crow hit a window to his room. Which was... quite peculiar. A crow should know better.

     He walked over to the glass and peered down. It was no crow that hit his window... on the grass, cover up, was a black book with white lettering he couldn't quite make out from that angle. Its paper in the middle jutted out slightly, bent by the fall, but still clearly pure and unburdened by the dirt of the ground. L didn't want to leave his room, so he calmly walked away, grabbed some fishing line and a hook he had prepared just for the occasion he wanted to get something discreetly, and poked it outside of the window. He attempted a few times to hook on to the corner of it, and eventually, he felt its weight hold on, and carefully, he pulled it up. Once it was in reach, he grabbed its corner with his index finger and thumb.

     The air shifted. Like a cloud had blocked the sun momentarily and a slow shift of lighting changed the room slightly; nobody ever mentioned it, but everybody sensed it. He ignored it, himself.

     He was curious. He wasn't sure what the white letters were supposed to say... it looked like 'arvc-5' in English print. Wasn't that the abbreviation to a genetic mutation? Why would a notebook have that on its cover, especially in such a harsh looking handwriting? Oh well. Maybe the inside would answer that.

     It did. He found the rules page and analyzed them, carefully, and this is what he gathered; a notebook that could kill nearly anyone, using only their face and their name. If the cause of death is not specified, the victim simply dies of a heart attack. He chuckled. Now ‘arvc-5’ made sense to him. This notebook... if only it was a human. Then it could drive the red pieces for him... if it even was real.

     Then he thought. Why did he have to play the blue pieces? If this notebook was real, couldn't he try the red reigns for once? Couldn't he see what it was like to be chased... as one final testament to his status? Theoretically, the number one detective could also write the perfect crime.

      _I have to try this. I have to see if it's real._

     L's free hand moved over to grab a sugar cube from the top of his tower. It was a red knight now, and it was just beneath his fingertips. A crow hadn't knocked on his window. The whole murder did.


	2. The Shinigami

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> L has the Death Note, but is he ready for what (or whom) he may face?
> 
> (Warning ahead: There is a description of a car crash in this chapter.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case you missed it, here it is again: this fic will update every day at 12 AM EST on Mondays, and here's the latest (as of 7/11/16) installment! I hope you enjoy.

     “Have you started following a new case?” Watari came in with a cart of cakes and teas. L was experimenting to see what concentration of sugar tasted best in what kind of tea, but he refused to tamper with the perfect balance that was cake.

     He immediately grabbed for one of the pieces, rather childishly, and looked Watari in the eyes as he spoke. “No. Technically not.” He pinched the fork and cut a bit of the cake off with it, holding the piece in front of his eyes. “It’s not a case yet, mostly… just a rumor.”

     “A rumor?” Watari took a walk around the room, picking up trash as he found it and straightening up messes.

     “Yes. You’ve heard of Kira, I’m assuming?”

     “Kira.” He nodded. “I thought that would be right up your alley. I was about to suggest it, myself. The Interpol is already beginning to discuss the situation, but they still think it may be a string of coincidences.”

     “Could you let them know I’m involved when they begin to call it a case? I’d like to speak with them myself.”

     “Yes. Of course. I’ll call you when everything is ready.”

     “Thank you.” He finally put the piece of cake in his mouth. Watari stayed for a little while longer to see if he needed anything else… and upon hearing nothing, left him alone in the room.

     L waited for a little while afterward while pouring out a cup of tea, and after a few minutes had passed he reached beneath the cushion he was sitting on and retrieved the black notebook. Between his fingers lay the names of those whose lives were cut short by the thin sheets of paper.

     ...

     Just a little while back, he tested the book’s abilities on one person. While he was in a limousine travelling from his old ‘headquarters’ to a new one(he wasn’t on a new case, he just hated being in one place for too long), he was watching news reports from all over the world on a laptop, pretending to be looking for a new case to work on. In Kanto, Japan, a man was in the middle of a high speed chase with the police after he had attempted bank robbery. Kameyama Yasotaro, face seemed average according to what it was on the broadcast. Not interesting in any way at all. He was perfect.

     He glanced around, slid the book out from under his laptop, and casually wrote the name. He wondered for a moment whether or not he should write a cause of death, but… if he wrote ‘car accident’, there was a chance it would happen by coincidence, and if he wanted to sound smart later, he’d bring up this incident. So he’d let reports show if he died by his own mistake… or a heart attack.

     Twenty-five seconds left, after he got done with his internal monologue.

 

     Twenty.

 

     Ten.

 

     Five. Four. Three. Two.

 

     … He sighed dejectedly. He was really hoping it was real. He already decided he was going to write the perfect crime, and now he wouldn’t have the opportunity to-

     The screeching of car tires. A loud crash. His eyes widened slightly as the news reporters shouted into their microphones about a sudden change of pace. Kameyama Yasotaro wasn’t moving. He continued to stare at the screen, listening to the reporters’ voices.

     ‘I’m not too sure what I’m looking at here any more, Mr. Iitaka! The driver suddenly went off course and crashed into a telephone pole.’ ‘Was it possible he lost control of his car?’ ‘Might be… we’re hoping to regain control of the situation soon-- … what’s this? We’ve… just gotten word that the driver is dead!’

 _Of what?_ L demanded internally. _Of what?!_

     ‘Police are saying that the impact didn’t kill him. They think his death was what caused him to go off course…’

     … That answer was as good as any. There was about a ninety percent chance in his mind that this book was real… with an error margin of ten. But just to fill that empty space(it might have been greater considering his bias of wanting it to be true), he had tried it again. And again. All of them were successful.

     Since then, he’s been building an MO for this mysterious killer. If he just targeted random people, then some people might think it’s something in the air. He had to target a certain group.

     He started with criminals… he’d continue with criminals. That would work pretty well, wouldn’t it? And if he was killing criminals, people might start actually supporting his ideals. The crime rate would drop, naturally.

     The world would definitely notice. He wanted them to catch on to the existence of the phantom killer who only needed a name and face. But for now, he changed the channel.

     …

     Those were the names in the pages now, as he held them in front of his eyes and read them over once more. He focused them in Japan. There’d be a reason for that later, and it was for him to discuss with the international police.

     Then, an unfamiliar voice. “You’ve been busy.”

     L’s neck nearly snapped from how quickly he turned to find the source, and when he did his eyes travelled up to see yellow cat-like eyes staring down at him. His mouth hung open slightly. “What… are you?”

     “A shinigami. You really shouldn’t be surprised…”

     His voice caught in his throat for a moment. A shinigami. He believed in the notebook’s power, but he didn’t know it would be tied so closely to…

     He cleared his throat. “A real shinigami… You know, it’s rude not to knock.”

     She blinked. “You have something that belongs to me. That’s why I’m here.”

     “The notebook? Do you want me to give it back?” That would be disappointing, after coming so far with it. Maybe he could bargain for-

     “No. That book… belongs to you now. It belonged to the human world from the moment it touched the ground, and to you when you touched it.”

     He sighed softly in relief. “Then why are you here?”

     She was silent for a moment while she tried to remember what exactly was written on that rules page. It was short… and only mentioned the death. Not the shinigami. “I’m going to be here for a while now. I’ll be following you until ownership of the book is transferred or you die. Those are the rules I have to follow.”

     “...” He set the book down for a moment and crossed his hands in front of his face, poking the corners of his lips with his thumbs. “I see. I’m glad I don’t have to be alone, honestly. I’ve always wanted someone to share my thoughts with.” He picked up his cup of tea and offered it. “Do you want this while you’re here?”

     “What is it?”

     “It’s tea. This one is… green tea, apparently.” He set it down somewhere she could grab it.

     “We don’t need food or liquid…” But regardless, she picked up the cup and held it closer to her face.

     “If you don’t want it, give it back.”

     Too late. She had already tried a little bit of it, and within seconds, the tea was gone. “... That was… surprisingly good.”

     “Glad to hear it.” He poured himself a new cup. “Do you have a name?”

     “It’s Rem. Don’t think about trying to write my name in the Death Note, either. It won’t work.”

     “So it’s called a Death Note? The title said ‘arvc-5’, but the rules called it that. I was wondering.”

     “I wasn’t the one who called it that.”

     “Interesting. You can call me L, by the way.”

     “I know. You might not want to go by your real name, for future reference.”

     L smiled up at her. “Everyone thinks it’s an alias, and nobody knows my last name. I’ll be fine.”

     “All right.” She fiddled around with the tiny human sized cup. “Do you have any more of this?”

     “Take the whole pot if you want to, Rem. Just don’t touch my cake and leave some sugar cubes for me.”

     “You have quite a few rules yourself.”

     “Did you expect anything less?” He reached forward and picked a strawberry from a cake slice to lick off the frosting.

     “I wasn’t sure what to expect. I don’t know what you’re planning to do with the book.”

     “This may come as a surprise to you, but I’m the world’s number one detective. I’m going to make my own case, pretend I’m going to solve it, and see if I can find someone whose intellect matches mine. Then… I’m going to challenge him.”

     She tried not to roll her eyes. She was actually kind of hoping this human wouldn't use it. “This sounds like a long shot.”

     “Not really. I already have a plan. So why did you drop the notebook?”

     “I came into a spare and decided it was a good excuse to take a break from the shinigami realm. Honestly, I was going to give it to someone else... “

     “Why didn’t you?”

     “... I was worried about what it would do to her to have that kind of power.”

     “Ah. That makes sense.” He bit the tip of the strawberry. “So even gods of death have sympathy for others, including humans.”

     “They can. Some of them…”

     “... Some humans don’t either. I could name you a few,” He gestured to the book with what was left of the strawberry in his fingers, “but they’re all dead. At any rate… I have to prepare for something.”


	3. A Light Went Off in His Head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> L has his red pieces set, and he has an idea for who he wants to pioneer the blue.
> 
> The game has almost begun.
> 
> No warnings apply to this chapter.

     For Light Yagami, it felt like the same thing every single day. Walk home from school. Listen to the large television screens and the radio broadcasts and hear stories about all the crime going on in the world, feel disappointed in himself and those around him when they all grew numb to it.

     Until Kira showed up. Instead of new criminals appearing, old ones were disappearing, and they were especially focused in Japan. He almost couldn’t believe it. Somewhere, in his heart, he was wondering… is this a good or a bad thing? Is it good that criminals are disappearing, or bad because…

_      No. This has to be bad, right? I mean, if there was somebody out there, deciding who was living and dying… no human should have that kind of power. _

     This was ridiculous. He had to be focusing on studying for entrance exams, not asking himself existential questions. But… if he was going to be honest… it was kind of interesting? He’d helped on cases before, and maybe if the police started working on a case, he could find out more about this mysterious killer. Just for the sake of curiosity.

     He’d have to find some way to get there, though. That was the trickiest part. Especially since his father wouldn’t be allowed to tell him anything about Kira, on the off chance that he was working on it.

     After greeting his mother and walking upstairs to his room(that part was a bit blurry in his mind because of how often he did it), he turned on the television and leaned back in his chair. He wanted to see the news before he continued his studying.

     He couldn’t help but get incredibly distracted. Almost every time there was a criminal broadcasted on the channel he was watching- they collapsed. Right then and there. What kind of person could do that? A God, maybe?

     No. That’s absurd. Or… was it? Whoever this guy was or group of people were… he couldn’t help but feel…

     Something he just couldn’t explain. He felt like he was being personally attacked, and he couldn’t figure out  _ why _ . The television knocked him out of it when he heard the channel abruptly change its course.

     “We’d like to apologize for the interruption. As of now, we’re bringing you… a live worldwide broadcast from Interpol’s ICPO.”

     …

     L was watching his ‘stunt double’ talk on the screen while remaining silent. Everything was set according to plan.

     “I am Lind L. Tailor. Otherwise known as L.”

     He couldn’t help but laugh- though it was more of a derisive huff- when the convict said those words. He hated it when other people claimed to be L, especially those undeserving of the title, but he couldn’t say anything yet. He had to pretend to track down Kira.

     “However, what you are doing right now… is evil.”

     There. That was his cue. Luckily, L was alone in the room at the time, and he discreetly slipped the Death Note out from under his laptop… and quietly scribbled down the name without taking his eyes from the screen…

     Forty seconds of silence. Followed by several seconds of utter confusion and chaos. He smiled to himself briefly before tapping the button that would override the broadcast and allow the real L to speak.

     …

     Light couldn’t believe it. L was… dead? The greatest detective in the world went out on a limb, challenged Kira, and he was  _ dead _ ? … If only he had played it smarter, he could have worked with-

     The calligraphic letter L displayed on the screen.

     “I… I had to test this just in case, but I- I never thought it would actually happen. Kira… it seems you can kill people without having to be there in person.”

_      … You clever bastard, L. You clever bastard. _ Light smiled and sat back in his chair, listening to L’s words. So, Kira had some sort of supernatural ability? He couldn’t help but admire the trap, and it appeared that he and L decided to follow this case at the same time… this could be fun.

     So, Lind L. Tailor was not only  _ not _ L, but a criminal used to take his place onscreen to see if Kira would kill him. Something about it… kind of worried him, but he didn’t have time to think about that. Not when L...

     “Now, try to kill ME!”

_      Are you insane? _

     “What’s wrong? Hurry up! Come on, right now, kill me!”

_      You’re gonna die if you do that! Don’t be an idiot! _

     ...

     L continued to shout at the screen, trying so hard not to laugh and to continue sounding like he was serious. Kill me, Kira. Go ahead. But you won’t do it, because I’m the one with the book…

     …

     “Can’t you do it?”

     Light gripped the arms of his chair tightly. L wasn’t dead. So that means… Kira couldn’t kill him. Maybe Kira couldn’t kill someone he doesn’t know? Or something else… he had a theory he was building in his mind, and he hoped it wasn’t true, but-

     ...

     “You’ve given me a useful hint. Let me return the favor. I’ll tell you something that I think you’ll find interesting.” Ironically- and nobody but L knew this- he wasn’t talking to Kira. He wasn’t even pretending to talk to Kira. He was talking to… a certain someone. “Although this was announced as a worldwide broadcast, the truth is… we are only broadcasting in the Kanto region of Japan.”

     ...

_      No way… Kira lives that close to me?  _ That was the first thought that ran into his mind. And the second thing he felt was odd. He felt like he was being cornered. Why? He wasn’t Kira. Someone else was. He had the feeling… maybe Kira didn’t live in this region. Maybe this was all a distraction. Earlier, he thought it was weird that Lind L. Tailor was such a high profile criminal, and that L didn’t die. Tailor fit the definition of someone Kira would want dead. Why? Kira, apparently, would have no way of knowing who he was. So why pick someone Kira would want dead either way? He thought, maybe L and Kira have a similar mindset.

     Maybe L is Kira.

     There was a low chance of that, though. He was hoping it was just nerves making him paranoid. The greatest detective in the world would  _never_  drop to committing murder on such a large scale. ~~Hopefully.~~

     Since the investigation would likely take place in Kanto, he’d be able to get involved with the case so much easier than if it was outside of his area. That was a plus. He just hoped his Kira theory was wrong.

     “Naturally, I’m very interested in knowing how you’re able to commit these murders without being present, but I don’t mind waiting a little bit longer. You can answer all my questions when I catch you. Let’s meet again soon, Kira.”

     Light watched the television as it fuzzed out of the broadcast… then promptly turned the television off. He was burned out on all this Kira excitement for the night.

     …

     “Why Kanto? Is there a reason?” Rem looked over L’s shoulder after he had finished with his broadcast, and the man looked up at her and, without breaking eye contact, held up a folder.

     “This is all the information I’ve gathered on ‘suspects’ over the past few days. Really, it’s a list of people who I thought would be able to stand up to my wits. There was one I took a particular interest in…” Rem took the folder and looked through it as he spoke. “He’s worked on cases before. His father is the chief of police. He’s definitely the type of person to be interested in the case… and he lives in Kanto. The very area I started picking criminals from.”

     “And who is this human, then?”

     “His name is Light Yagami. I’m almost certain he was watching the broadcast, and I have no doubts that he suspects me now. It’s only a matter of time before I challenge him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I just realized this as I was writing the chapter, but I'd like to clarify.
> 
> The reason these chapters are short is because they're basically restating what the actual anime/manga has already done. Chapter 6 will be a full length chapter because it ends completely differently from the original, and from then on the plot will diverge from the original series. There will still be parallels, however; chapter 25 will be just as dark as episode 25.
> 
> Thank you for your patience!


	4. Blue Knight Blackmail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have 1 new message(s).
> 
> Content warning for this chapter:  
> Well. Blackmail.

    L was actually quite pleased with himself, despite taking quite a sharp turn around the chessboard. The other side was actually quite fun for a change, but there was one little problem. He’d have to bend the rules a little. In his mind, blue pieces replaced white and red replaced black; meaning blue pieces, like white, would move first.

    That couldn’t happen, for what he had in mind. He _always_ made the first move, and he wasn’t ready to give that up for the sake of the continuity of a metaphor.

    His “headquarters”, which was actually a hotel room in Kanto, was comfortable enough for what he needed to get done. Watari kept him company, though he had no idea that L was really Kira- or if he did, he said nothing. L would contact the police for investigation through here, using his laptop, and he’d do whatever he had to from that point on.

    “I think Kira is a student,” he told them. I think Kira is this… I think Kira is that. Anything to lead their investigation to Light. ‘He’s trying to send a message, killing all these people at different times’. He should know, he was the one who wrote the times in the Death Note. But-- no. This approach wasn’t direct enough. He needed to get closer. Closer.

    L hunched over slightly, staring at the bright laptop screen in the dark room; the contrast was so stark, all the details of his screen-lit face seemed exaggerated. Unnaturally pale skin, unnaturally tired eyes-- an unnatural man, if you will, as if his creation was only _inspired_ by what a human should have been. He clicked open a computer window. On it, a room. The camera was viewing a desk with a computer on it, a small television pointed towards the chair and resting on a separate surface. The same television that wore his symbol a while before. _I’m almost certain he was watching the broadcast,_ he said. There was no almost about this. Rem apparently didn’t notice L checking the camera earlier to make sure Light was on the right space of the board…

    “You’ve been sitting like this for the past ten minutes, L.” Rem didn’t really care that much, but when you had nothing else to do except sip on some tea, making small talk wasn’t such a bad idea; even if it was L. “What are you waiting for?”

    “Light Yagami. Isn’t that obvious? He should be coming home soon…” His mouse drifted over a ‘send’ button, waiting patiently, occasionally moving so his monitor didn’t sleep. His computer only slept when he did. “And when he does… the first piece will make a move.”

    “... Right.” Rem couldn’t help but wonder about something. L was so fixated on getting Light to fight against him, he almost seemed to forget about the possibility of somebody else coming along and trying to solve the case. The police, for an obvious instance. Maybe even Quillsh Wammy- Watari, the man who should know when L was out of the house and maybe find it suspicious that he didn’t just ask him to do it.

    … But she said nothing. It was none of her business.

    It felt like forever until he showed up, but both L and Rem were used to sitting and waiting through forevers. The door opened. Light walked in and sat himself on his chair, turned on his TV and then his computer.

    L smiled. Just as he thought. Light should have been studying, but instead, he was on his computer accessing the files on the police investigation so he could do his own research to find Kira. Finally, some real hard evidence that Light was, in fact, trying to track him down…

    He had to get prepared. He pulled the Death Note into a position he could use it, set up a pen within reaching distance… and hit ‘send’.

    …

_You have 1 new message(s)._

    It wasn’t atypical for Light to receive emails(even though texts were more common), so he wasn’t caught off guard at first by the notification. He just finished up what he was reading, and thinking about how Kira could control the time of death, when he clicked open the file.

    Immediately, he held his breath.

 

**To: Light Yagami (tsukigami1989@gmail.com)**

**Subject: News**

 

**Hello, Light Yagami. I am Kira.**

 

**Read this entire message, and don’t show it to anyone. I have some important information for you that I think you’ll find interesting.**

 

 _That_ sounded familiar.

 

**Your father is Soichiro Yagami, and he is currently working on the case against me. If you try to tell anybody about this, I will not hesitate to kill him. If you don’t believe me, look at your television. The first live criminal to appear that you see will die, and before he does, he will wave at the camera. Just so you know I am real.**

 

    … Nervously, Light turned his head to the screen. Unknown to him, a pale hand was sitting at ready, connected eyes staring at the very same channel…

    It was a while before any such broadcast was made, but it felt even longer knowing that something like that might actually happen. Not only would it imply that Kira could see what he was doing, otherwise he wouldn’t have known which news channel he was watching, but it also stated that Kira could control a victim’s actions before they died.

    Please be a prank. Please be a prank.

    It was even longer until the criminal was even shown live onscreen. The assailant was going smoothly with the police… and after a little under a minute, he just stopped there… turned to look at the camera… and waved before collapsing. Some were startled. Others were expecting this.

    Light had to keep himself from making a startled noise, and it was _so_ difficult… he could feel his own heart pounding in his chest. He was on the brink of panicking, and almost didn’t want to read what the message continued on with... but he felt like he had an obligation to.

 

**I’m assuming that because you’re continuing to read, you believe me. Good. Follow these instructions very carefully and to the letter; then, and only then, your father will be safe.**

 

**There is a file attached to this message with a map. I have circled the locations I’m about to mention to you. Print it out and delete this message as soon as possible.**

 

**There is a bus stop circled in red. Go there in exactly a week at 11:21 AM, find a way to make it inconspicuous. When you arrive at the stop, there will be a backpack with your name on a tag. If there is anyone with you and they might find you taking this bag to be suspicious, find some reason to make it believable. Inside, you’ll find an earpiece. Wear it. It will be important when you’re on the bus.**

 

**If you agree to these terms, say something out loud. If you don’t, simply say nothing. I’ll take that as a hint to go ahead and kill your father right now. I await your response.**

 

    Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump.

    The room went black, save for the computer screen, and it wavered with each beat of his heart. Was he dying? No… no, but he felt like it. This is what it felt like, knowing you were caught under the claw of a predatory…

    … No need to finish that mental image. “All right.” Nobody would get hurt… so, if this Kira was telling the truth… there would be no other reason to be worried, right?

__You have 1 new message(s).__

    Light opened it immediately.

 

**Thank you.**

  


    That confirmed it. Kira could see and hear him…

    ...

    L’s hand was nearly shaking from how excited he was. He reached over to a bowl of strawberries with one hand, a stack of sugar cubes with the other, and held them next to each other. The sugar cube was his red knight, the strawberry was the blue knight. And now... he smiled even wider. Now, this was what he’s been waiting for. The challenge that would knock all others out of the water.

 _And soon…_ he bit the strawberry from the stem while balancing the cube on his other thumb, amused. _Soon, I’ll win._

    “L.” Rem snapped him out of it. He dropped the cube accidentally, and he looked up to make eye contact, the smile gone.

    “Yes? What is it?”

    … Rem simply stared at him for a while. She wasn’t going to get involved, but… the stress of it all was starting to get at her. It was like watching someone about to make a big mistake, and she couldn’t just sit by while he did so. But… what was the clearest way of communicating this to him?

    She drifted away into Watari’s room and came back with a Werther’s candy, putting it in the palm of L’s hand when he reached out for it.

    L just stared at it for a while. They brought these back from America when they were there, and Watari sometimes liked to offer them to guests when L was away or hidden safely in his room. He put the strawberry stem down, and with his free hand, picked up the now crumbling sugar cube.

    “... I understand.” L wiped the sugar off of his laptop. “I told Watari I was doing this for the case. He doesn’t know that I’m Kira. … It would be suspicious, yes, but... he trusts me more than anybody else does. _I_ trust _him_.”

    “... If you say so.”

    “I do say so.” He went back to his laptop. Light was printing out the document, and he had deleted the email as planned. Perfect.

    “There is one more thing I want to tell you.”

    “Hm?” It wasn’t like her to be so talkative.

    “There exists a deal between humans and shinigami…” She paused to make sure L was listening and not focused on his ‘game’ again. “The eyes of a shinigami can see the real names and lifespans above a human’s face. In exchange for half of a human’s remaining lifespan, that human can have the eyes, too. The shinigami eyes are how I know your name, L.”

    “... I think I knew about the shinigami eyes, but I didn’t know about the deal.”

    “What? How?”

    “Not important… but that tells me something I’ve been wondering about, too.”

    “... And what is that?”

    “If a person changes their name, that is the name that will then be their real name.”

    “So you changed your name to L?”

    “Yes.” He wiped his hands together. Bits of remaining sugar drifted from them as he did so. “This deal, however… hm. It sounds interesting, but I’m going to have to pass. I’m doing this for fun, so I want to have as much time as I possibly can to see this through. Besides, that’s just cheating. If I’m going to win, I’m going to do it without making it too easy for me.”

    …

    Stop number six. The train to Space Land. This was the place Kira had specified, he was sure of it. The bag was seated beneath the post with the number on it… he just had to go over and get it.

    The girl who was with Light- Yuri- was visibly very excited to be going on this date with Light. It was the least suspicious way he could think to get on a bus to Space Land... plus, it’d be pretty nice if they actually got to go and just enjoy themselves.

    “Oh, hey, would you look at that.”

    “Huh?” Yuri looked up at Light. “Look at what?”

    “My bag. I lost it a while ago, I didn’t know it was right here this whole time…” Just like Kira said, his name was on the tag. Creepy.

    Light opened the bag and searched through it. There were actually quite a few supplies in there, but he did in fact find the earpiece. Hesitantly, he put it in. He didn’t really want to know what Kira’s voice sounded like… … and he didn’t have to. Someone spoke through, but they used a voice filter.

_“Hello, Light Yagami. I’m glad you decided to play along.”_

    Light rolled his eyes as he put the bag on his back. As if he had a choice…

    “Hey, what’s that earpiece for?” Yuri tilted her head slightly. “Are you gonna listen to music on the way there? If so, you don’t need that,” she smiled, “I don’t mind listening with you.”

    “No, it’s…” Light scratched the back of his head. “Don’t laugh, but I thought I’d try to start a new fashion trend.”

    “Oh my God! You’re even dorkier than I expected. No, that’s okay! I’m sure it’ll catch on. You look good.”

    “Thanks.”

_“Good idea. Your quick thinking skills are simply amazing… don’t worry about responding to me. I’m just here to tell you what to do.”_

_I don’t even have a transceiver, how could Kira hear me? How close is he? … Or… they? What if Kira really was an organization, and Yuri was a part of it?_

    “Hey, Light. Are you okay? You’re kinda spacey. Why don’t you save that for Space Land?”

    “Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” He snickered. “That was really cheesy. And you call me a dork.”

    “Gah! You’re infecting me!”

    Light would find this conversation a lot more fun if there wasn’t an invisible gun on the back of his and his father’s head. At any rate… the bus showed up, and they all climbed on board, followed by a few people. One of them might be Kira…

    … Might be. For now, he was pretty excited about going to Space Land, even if he was being blackmailed by Kira. It would make… a nice change of pace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for being patient with me, you guys!
> 
> By the way, I actually made that email. If you want, you can try sending a message to it...


	5. His Name is...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiichiro Osoreda. Accidental death.
> 
> Content warning for this chapter: Bus jacking, car accident, even more blackmail

    Even while they talked in their seats, joking and just generally having a nice time with each other, Light was constantly looking around. Kira said something would happen, and it hasn’t yet. It’s been nine minutes now. Ten, as they pulled up to another bus stop. 11:31.

_“By the way, the man boarding the bus right now is not the man you need to find the name of.”_

    What was that supposed to mean?

_“Is there a man seated behind you? Cough once for yes.”_

    Light glanced to the seat behind him, then coughed discreetly into his arm.

_“That’s most likely the man you need.”_

_What the Hell…? Who’s boarding the bus right now, then?_

    Light heard the cocking of a gun. ”Stay in your seats unless you wanna die!”

 _God damn it, Kira. So_ this _is what he meant. That bastard said nobody would get hurt!_ Light put a hand on Yuri’s shoulder reflexively, and she discreetly scooted a little bit closer.

    “Everybody shut up! If anybody moves, I’m putting a bullet in their head!” The bus jacker turned his head to look at the driver and started listing off his demands. Light didn’t catch most of them-- he could barely hear them through the thumping echoing through his own skull. He didn’t come back to reality until he heard the bus phone being ripped off the wall and stomped into pieces on the ground.

_“This is your chance, Light. Be as quiet as possible and take the notepad out from one of the pockets of the bag, along with the pen. Write a note or something that would get the attention of the guy behind you.”_

    Light was… quite irritated that Kira was making him do most of the quick thinking, but okay then. He quietly did as he was told and started writing whatever he could think someone else would be looking in on.

**Yuri, don’t be scared. As soon as he turns around, I’m going to grab the gun out of his hand.**

    She looked slightly confused as she started to read it while it was still in Light’s hand. Then, the man behind them spoke in a quiet voice.

    “Don’t be stupid. That’s risky. If it comes to that, I’ll take care of it.”

_“Good. Now just get his name.”_

    Light started writing again.

    “It’s okay. We don’t have to pass notes back and forth. If we keep it down, he won’t be able to hear our voices over the sound of the engine.”

    … How could he spin this so he could-- “... Do you have any proof that you’re not his accomplice? Why should we trust you?”

    The man behind them was taken aback slightly, and Yuri furrowed her eyebrows together with worry. “Accomplice…?”

    “Yes, I’ve read about this before. The first bus jacker comes in and a second one stays in the back pretending to be a hostage just in case something goes wrong.”

    “... You- you really think he is one?”

    The man behind them was silent for a while, watching the jacker to make sure he was looking away as he passed Light his ID. “Here’s my proof. Take a look.”

 _Raye Penber… the FBI…?_ Light had to keep himself from making any sort of noise. _This doesn’t make any sense. Why does Kira want me to do this so badly? How would he know about this agent being here? If he hired him, wouldn’t it make sense that he would already know his name?_

    “I trust you. And I guess for the time being, I won’t bother asking what an FBI agent is doing on the bus in the first place. Do you have a gun?”

    “Yeah, I’ve got one.”

    “So if it comes down to it, I can rely on you, right?”

    “Yes.”

    The jacker started shouting at the other passengers. Light tightened his lips. This was bad. If this was all orchestrated by Kira, then… one slip up could mean he really was dead. No wonder why he was so confident. The guy doing the bus jacking… he saw him on the television. He wondered why Kira didn’t just kill him, but now he saw he was just being used as another pawn.

_“Cough again.”_

_… What? Is he insane? … Okay, probably. But still._

_“Light, I said cough. Trust me.”_

    He wasn’t sure ‘trust me’ was the right way for Kira to phrase it, but… fine. Light coughed. It immediately got the attention of the jacker. “What did I just say?! Stay quiet or I’ll--” … The criminal stared at the area behind him for a while, even behind Raye Penber, then pointed his gun. “Wh- who the Hell are you? You, in the very back! What do you think you’re doing?! D… don’t mess with me! How long have you been hiding back there?!”

_“He’s talking to his shadow, really. Just stay calm.”_

    “Stay there, you! You- keep away from me you freak!”

_“This is the best part, Yagami. Watch it for me. He’s going to empty his gun trying to kill his own shadow, run off the bus scared, and get hit by a car-”_

    “EVERYONE, GET DOWN!” Raye interrupted, and everyone ducked behind their seats to shield themselves, many making a loud startled noise.

    For a while, the jacker did nothing except stand there, terrified, his gun pointed and his arms shaking fearfully at the ‘monster’ he was looking at. He began backing up slightly, then burst suddenly with “GET AWAY!” before-

 **BANG! BANG!** He started screaming, which only grew louder by the second. **BANG! BANG! BANG BANG! BANG!** CRASH, the back window shattered! Screaming, still, and click. Click click. He stood there, still terrified, staring as the smoke from his empty gun rose towards the ceiling. Raye Penber pushed himself out of his seat and ran towards the now defenseless jacker. He nearly tripped running to the driver and grabbed him, shouting “STOP THE BUS! LET ME OFF!”

    Light felt time freeze.

    He felt everything in that one moment. Yuri, trembling as she clung to him. The collective fear of every passenger on that bus, and the driver. The pure bravery and determination Raye pushed through to get to the assailant. The pure terror the jacker felt. The loud clanking of the footsteps running along the bus floor, the breaths they took, the hearts that were beating.

    Time resumed. The bus screeched to a stop. The jacker fell out the door. A loud scream, then a loud and disturbingly crunchy CRASH as a car, who couldn’t stop in time, collided headfirst with the jacker.

    And he was dead.

    Light only came back to reality when he heard Kira laughing. _“See? Nobody innocent was hurt, I told you. And now you know the name of the man who was stalking you.”_

 _You… sick… bastard._ Light hugged Yuri closer, and she didn’t protest. Both of them needed a little bit of comfort after witnessing… that.

    …

    L was sitting on a set of stairs- the one that Raye was watching Light from under just moments before. He tugged the hoodie closer to his face so he wouldn’t be recognized, and he put the transceiver down. Nobody was close to him the entire time, thankfully. He could speak as freely as he wanted.

    “You already knew Raye’s name. This seems pointless to me.” Rem stared at the screen, not being able to see anything since it was all audio that was coming through, and L was wearing a headset.

    “You’ll see.” He bit his nail. “In due time…”

    …

Kiichiro Osoreda        Accidental Death

Boards the 11:31 Space Land-bound bus near the Eastern entrance to the park, holding a loaded gun, and attempts to hijack the bus. Hears a man cough, then begins to see a hallucination near the back of the bus, and empties his gun trying to kill it. Terrified, he flees the bus. Immediately afterwards, at 11:45, he dies when struck by a car.

 

  L admired the careful attention to detail that the Death Note always had when performing the acts written inside. It was like the book existed for _him_ , and not any God of Death. They were a perfect, terrible match.

    …

    Light had just begun to exit when Raye tried to get his attention. “You there.”

    “... Yeah?”

    “Listen carefully, I just came to Japan as part of a secret investigation, so the local police can’t find out that, uhm… that I…”

    “... I understand. I promise, I won’t tell anyone that I met you, and of course… that includes my father.”

    “Well, then…” He ran off. “Please excuse me.”

    Light started walking off, clutching the backpack tightly and fidgeting with his ear to make sure the piece was still in it. Yuri went home on her own. Neither of them were really feeling up to going to Space Land after that incident.

    He glanced around before speaking. “Kira. Can you still hear me?”

    There was a pause before the voice answered. _“Yes.”_

    “What was the point of all that? Why did you want me to get his name?”

_“He’s an FBI agent hired by L to investigate the police’s family. You didn’t notice him before?”_

    “Wait. L is suspicious of the families of… … … How do you know about all this? Who are you?”

_“I’m sure you’ll find out later. Where’s the fun if I come out and tell you?”_

    “Fun?”

_“Yes. Fun. This is the best game I’ve ever played in a long time, Light Yagami… I think of it as chess. I made the first move. Are you going to retaliate?”_

    “You… you **want** me to find you.”

_“Right, but I want you to find me fair and square.”_

    “... I’ve been thinking this the whole time, but now I get to finally say it. You’re a sick bastard, Kira. You’re insane and immoral and-”

 _“And childish? I know. I never claimed I was doing the right thing, but I_ **_am_ ** _doing the_ **_best_ ** _thing.”_

    “I hate you.”

_“That’s a shame, I was growing rather fond of you.”_

    “I don’t care. I’m taking the earpiece out now.”

_“That’s fine. I’ll email you later…”_

    … Light did as he said and took it out, shoving it back into the bookbag. It seemed to be a toy, but he didn’t see anyone remotely suspicious on the bus when he was there. How was he able to get close enough to get connection?

    ...

    L started packing up his laptop and headset, stood up, and began his walk home. He made complete certain that he concealed the transceiver before heading off. It was a special kind that was designed for Wammy’s kids- it worked like a toy, but had enough range to talk from long distances. It worked wonders for undetected communication.

    Luckily, they weren’t too far away, and L didn’t get too exhausted on the walk. He was surprisingly fit for being someone who looked lanky and like he never got enough sleep a day in his life.

    He arrived at the room, set his laptop back up, and reviewed his past few experiments. They were to make sure how fully he could control a victim’s death, all leading up to the beautifully morbid bus jacking that just happened what felt like moments ago. He told the Japanese police to keep the results private- but he knew Light would find out about it anyway. Really, he was spoonfeeding the guy evidence.

    L bit his nail. “Rem… this is all going according to plan. When is he going to try fighting it?”

    “I couldn’t say. Maybe when he feels there’s a way to get out of a situation without resulting in the deaths of him or anyone he cares about.”

    “Or maybe if I wait long enough, he’ll crack. That’s what’s interesting about human beings, Rem. Everyone can be broken, always in different ways. Sometimes, it takes years, and others, just a single word.”

    “...” In other words, it was only a matter of time before a human turned their back on everyone else. She didn’t find it interesting, she just found it… disgusting.

    L reached over to grab the old bowl of strawberries he had lying out. They didn’t seem very fresh any more. He proceeded to rip one in half with his fingernails. “I just have to figure out what Light’s breaking point is.”

    “You’re making a mess.”

    He looked down at the red he got all over his hands. He had been pressing too hard. “... Oh. Oops.”

    …

    Light got a new email the second he got home. Couldn’t Kira give him one break? Just _one_? No. That was probably too much to ask from a childish killer who… apparently wanted to be caught. Unless that was a red herring or something. His head hurt from thinking over this so much. Oh well… he supposed he should read it.

**Make sure you aren’t busy in another week. I’ll talk to you then.**

    Another week. Right. Wonderful. At this rate, he wasn’t going to have enough time for studying, he was just going to end up worrying his months away.

    …

    1 And the days

    2 Marched on

    3 Slowly,

    4 As did

    5 The case.

    6 Until the day

    7 Light got another email.

    …

    He made sure he wouldn’t be busy. Otherwise, Kira would throw a fit and probably do something to make his disdain very obvious.

    The suspense was killing him. He tapped his fingertips against the table, staring at his computer screen, just waiting until he had one new message. Was Kira torturing him by making him wait? I mean, he already proved he could see into his room by killing the criminal on the TV.

_One (1) new message._

_Finally._ He felt bad for being relieved.

 

**Go to the plaza by Shinjuku Station, wear something common that hides your face. Use the earpiece, take the paper bag from your new bookbag and wait for further instruction. Remember to delete these messages as well.**

 

    … He waited that long for three sentences. Kira was getting really willful with these requests.

    “I’m going out,” was all he said before he left through the front door, holding a hoodie and the bag in his arms. He started to put it on over his normal clothes while he was walking there, being careful not to drop anything.

    He eventually arrived at the station. Luckily, it wasn’t too far away. Kira hadn’t even spoken until he showed up.

_“Oh, there you are.”_

    “What?” Light muttered quietly. “You can see me?”

_“I can now.”_

    “So you’re here too?”

_“Good luck finding out which of these people I am, if that’s what you’re thinking...”_

    “Then how do you know which one is me? How can you hear me?”

_“You haven’t figured that much out yet? The bookbag is bugged and tracked. But you’d be stupid to remove it, considering…”_

    “... Right.”

 _“Any more questions?”_   There was a pause. _“... No? All right, then. I want you to stand next to that café… just lean against the wall and look inconspicuous.”_

    He rolled his eyes. How detailed of a plan. “Okay… what are we doing here, exactly? You didn’t tell me in the email.”

    His voice came in quietly. _“We’re going to kill Raye Penber.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be honest with you guys, things aren't so hot over here, but I'm gonna continue writing because it helps me get off steam.
> 
> I'm sorry if something doesn't make sense or if there's a plothole, but I might rewrite these chapters in the future. I'm writing these for myself more at this point, but I hope you all enjoy reading them too.
> 
> If you want to leave criticism you can, I won't stop you, but with the way things are turning out I don't have the energy to iron out everything.
> 
> Thank you for understanding.


	6. ... Raye Penber

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The game was set. The red pieces make the first move.
> 
> The blue knight carefully slides into action...

     “... What?”

_      “You heard me. Don’t make me repeat myself.” _ The voice got quieter.  _ “It was a risk just saying that-” _

     “But you-”

_      “Hush. Don’t blow your cover. Stay quiet, or else.” _

“...” Light felt his face get redder out of frustration. “You promised.”

_      “I promised? … Oh, right. Raye isn’t innocent. He’s trying to find me, and that itself is unforgivable. I’ve chosen to be nice to you, but that’s because I admire your work.” _

“You admire my work.”

_      “Yes, the cases you’ve helped solve in the past.” _

“... If you wanted to challenge someone who could solve cases, why don’t you just challenge someone else who does this professionally? Why didn’t you challenge L?”

_      “That’s for me to know and for you to find out later.” _

“Are you L? Is that y-”

_      “Shut up.” _ The harshness of his tone startled Light.  _ “Just pay attention. He should be walking by any minute. Do as I say, or-” _

“O- okay, I know, you don’t have to remind me.”

_      “We’re on the same page, then.” _

Light was pretty sure it was L, at this point, and he was crushed; not only because this was the man he and so many aspiring detectives idolized(plus the lucky few that despised him), but the fact that L  was the man his father was working with. His dad was putting his head right there on a slaughterhouse chopping block, and he didn’t even know he was doing it.

He wanted to warn him so badly, but there was no way he would risk his own father dying… but… he’d die in a world won by Kira anyway. He’d have to figure something out, he didn’t know what he’d do if his dad died because of him.

_      “He’s coming by soon. When he does, walk behind him.” _

Light took a deep breath, exhaled it quietly, and casually walked behind the man who he had seen the name of a week prior. He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want Raye to die, he was innocent. He probably had a life to go back to, he-

He couldn’t do it. Not if he thought like this. He let himself detach from the situation, almost like turning himself on ‘auto-pilot’, and forced himself to carry out everything he would have to do to secure his father’s momentary safety.

“Mr. Raye Penber… turn around and you’re dead. I am Kira.”

The next few events were a blur. Kira killed someone to prove “his” legitimacy in front of another café. That should have jarred him more than it did, but it… didn’t. He had given Raye his own things from the bag(including a weird slotted folder) and had to take yet another earpiece out and put it in the other ear. Now he was wearing two.

Most of it was just L- sorry,  _ Kira _ \- telling him what to do, what to say, and Light was the unfortunate middleman of the entire course of events. And though his strategy for handling the situation, for the most part, was detaching himself, he felt a responsibility to pay attention to details that might give some sensitive information about Kira… like his method of killing, maybe.

He compiled a mental list of things to note, one in specific being the slotted folder. That was the most suspicious. Why slotted? Why not just provide the whole sheet of paper?

… As Raye was starting to get up and he left the folder in the space above him, Light started coming back to reality. ‘We’re going to kill Raye Penber,’ Kira said. So what was the point of all that?

Then, he realized, as he went to grab the folder from above where Raye was sitting and stuffed it into his backpack. Kira didn’t play fair. The second Raye stepped off the train-

The look on the agent’s face said it all. They could both tell what was happening, in that moment. Light walked over to the door of the train and looked out at him with a morbid curiosity and an obligation to let him have somebody who was by his side, somebody who knew that what just happened to him wasn’t his fault.

Raye collapsed on the ground, and with his last moments, stared up at Light…

“... I’m sorry, Raye Penber.”

His eyes widened slightly, still staring, until he started fading out. The doors of the train slowly began to close on him.

Time froze again.

If he let the doors close, then he would have complied with everything Kira told him to do. That seemed like the smart option to most people, but he remembered him saying something about this being ‘fun’, or a game of ‘chess’. What’s a game of chess without making a move? It was an extremely risky shot, but he had one, and he was going to take it.

He let time go on as he stepped out of the door and kneeled next to Raye. “Sir? Sir, are you okay?” He shook Raye by the shoulders. “Hello?”

This got the attention of the crowd. L, who was hiding from afar, was beginning to get irritated.  _ “Light, what do you think you’re doing?” _

_      Playing your game, Kira.  _ Light, in the middle of the chaos, took out both earpieces at once… making sure the security camera would catch it.

L cursed silently to himself as, after that, the crowd slowly started covering Light and he couldn’t see anything. That was all he could do for the moment; he was left with only one choice, and that was to go home and call it a night.

It felt like a while before the crowd actually started to disperse(some weren’t surprised, considering the killing that took place several minutes ago), and once they did, Light left the area before anything else happened that could distract him from what he was about to do next.

…

“I’m home.” He walked into his room and set the bookbag to the left of the door. It was an innocent phrase, but he was moreover talking to whatever bug Kira had in his room. He was waiting for-

_      You have 1 new message(s). _

That was quick, but Light knew better than to screw around and wait to read it. This thing needed to be opened ASAP so he could prove his point.

  
  


**I don’t appreciate the stunt you pulled.**

  
  


Light didn’t even have to reply. He knew he could just speak out loud. “Why not? I thought you wanted this to be a ‘game’, and I’d be in more danger if I let you have your way all the time. You’d get bored.”

It was a while before he got a reply, and it was only two words. Just two.

  
  


**Well played.**

  
  


…

L sent the message the second he regained access to his laptop; and despite the tone of the message, he knew what Light was doing already. He just wanted to hear him say it. No assumptions were going to be made- both sides would go all out to win this fight.

“You got what you wanted. Didn’t you?”

He nodded at Rem’s question. “I’ve never felt better.”

As if on cue, he received a call from Watari. “L, you have a call from the director of the FBI.”

There was a pause, then the call switched over to the director. “It’s me. I’ve got a report in front of me right now stating that all of our agents in Japan are dead. All twelve died of heart attacks. I can only assume that Kira is behind this. Look, I’m sorry, but… it’s already decided. We’re calling off our investigation.”

Immediately after that call had ended, Watari spoke again. “I have Chief Yagami on the line.”

The pause was a lot shorter now. The chief of police’s voice spoke through the computer, and his face appeared on the screen. “L, I just got off the phone with the director of the FBI. According to him, it seems that you arranged for the FBI to come to Japan and investigate everyone here associated with the task force.”

“... Yes, I did.”

“So how do you explain this? Are we now suspects in our own investigation?”

“I felt that it was necessary to uncover Kira’s identity.”

The chief’s eyebrows furrowed together. “I cannot accept that! I find it unbelievable that you would spy on us, the very people working with you on this case!”

Those in the background began talking between one another.  _ I knew we couldn’t trust L _ , one of them said. Another one began having doubts about Kira’s sense of justice. It was an unfortunate side effect of his plans regarding Light.

The call dropped before he could say anything else.

…

Dim light streamed through a large window. A woman sat in the chair next to it, avoiding the streams that shone through, keeping her eyes shaded.

He was dead. Raye Penber, her fiancé, was dead.

No.

He was killed, Kira killed him. She felt a desperate, painful determination build up in her heart. She had to do something.

Naomi wiped the tears from her eyes and stared at the portrait she had; a picture taken of her and the man who was supposed to be her husband.

…

“Umm… so what’s with the family meeting, dad?” Sayu leaned on the dining room table with her head propped up on her hands.

“I figured you’re going to find out sooner or later… so I might as well tell you now.” He closed his eyes as he talked. “I don’t want you to be alarmed. I’m sure you’ve heard of this Kira investigation… well, I’m currently in charge of it.”

“What? Are you serious?” Sayu grinned and put her hands down at her sides, straightening her back. “That’s totally awesome, dad! You’re the best cop ever!”

He opened his eyes again. “... That’s not quite the point I’m trying to make.”

“Oh?”

“You see, the truth is… the FBI sent twelve of their agents to Japan to assist us in finding Kira, and all of them… died yesterday.”

Light spoke up. “Does that mean that they were all killed by Kira?” He felt sick, though he couldn’t let it seem obvious. He’d cast himself under suspicion. This is… probably why Kira had Raye write down all those names. But what good would that do?

“What?” Sayu gasped.

“What I’m saying is, there’s a chance that Kira will actually try to kill anyone who will try to come after him. His crimes are more ruthless and frightening than anything we’ve seen.” Mr. Yagami glanced away. “Many detectives have already quit.”

“Dad, you should quit too!” Sayu leaned towards him from across the table. “I don’t want you to die! What if he gets you?!”

“That’s right!” Mrs. Yagami turned towards her husband. “Your life is so much more important than some job.”

“I can’t do that. I could never forgive myself if I walked away from this. I will not sit back and let evil triumph.”

“But… dad, you-”

“Please, dear-”

“... I think it’s honorable of you, dad.” Light stood up and started walking towards his room. He had to find something out, and the answer was in his room... “I’m proud to be able to call you my father. And if anything should ever happen to you, I’m going to find Kira. And make sure he gets executed.”

Mr. Yagami stared at the door to his son’s room as Light began to close it.

“... By the way, dad.”

“Yes?”

“Can I talk to you later, in the kitchen? I’ll be down in a second.”

“Of course, Light.”

“Thanks.” He then shut the door.

… The second he was in his room, Light turned his head to look at his left. If Kira could see him, and presumably there was only one camera(hopefully), that means its blind spot would be the side opposite of his desk and TV. That’s exactly where he put the backpack.

Being as quiet as possible, he took out the slotted folder and removed the sheet of paper inside.

…

“We now know that Kira doesn’t just target criminals. He’ll kill anyone who opposes him.” Soichiro Yagami folded his hands in front of him as he spoke. “It’s possible that we might all be killed by Kira. Think of your own lives, your families, and all the others you’d be leaving behind. If anyone wants to leave this investigation, now is the time.”

The other detectives in the Japanese police force stared at him in awe, but remained silent as he continued speaking.“You will not be demoted if you choose not to stay. You have my word. But if you’re not absolutely sure, then we don’t need you. You have to be willing to fight against him, even if that means making the ultimate sacrifice. That is all.”

_      “So… what are you gonna do?” _ The rest of them discussed. The point that Soichiro raised was rather… thought provoking, and that was an understatement.  _ “I’m not sure.” _

…

_      “The fact that you’ve chosen to stay means that you have a strong sense of justice. I trust all of you.” _ Through the voice changer, L spoke to the remaining police detectives in the room. It was actually rather easy for him to stay calm, now. He had gotten used to the excited feeling of the game being played in a way that challenged him, and he was no longer in danger of letting that show in his voice, from a bit of practice.

“... Hey, wait a second.” One of the detectives- Aizawa- spoke up. “L just said that he’s decided to trust us now. But honestly, what reason do we have to trust him?”

“Look, L.” Ide glared at the monitor. “All of us have agreed to put our lives at risk to bring Kira to justice. So I hope you understand what this means; we’re  _ really _ sticking our necks out here.”

Aizawa nodded. “But  _ you _ never have to show  _ your _ face, do you? You just give the orders. I don’t see how you can expect us to work alongside you under those conditions.”

“L… if all of us are going to work together on this investigation, and if you truly meant what you said about trusting the six of us, could you come here so we can all meet in person?”

… He could work with this. L muted his mic for a second and spoke quickly, “Rem, drink up. You might not have as much time to drink tea in the future.” She turned and stared at him when he said that, but she wouldn’t get an answer if she tried to reason with him about it. He already turned the mic back on. This could be a good excuse to get Light involved with the investigation…  _ “... The thought had already crossed my mind. After all, I did say that I trusted all of you.” _

Watari turned the laptop around. L was glad he would finally be able to meet the future blue team.

…

L stared out of the window of the hotel as he thought.  _ I’m so close… it’s only a matter of time before this really starts to pick up, and I’ll be able to see what you’re really made of. I’m ready to make my first public appearance as L as a testament to this new era… _

Twelve AM. There was a knock at the door.

“It’s unlocked. Please let yourselves in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, funny story.
> 
> I let my friend have editing permission over the fic on Google Docs to help me fix my mistakes and write things to flow better, etc. etc., and it was about 2:30 in the morning.
> 
> Do not do that.
> 
> Your friend will replace every mentioning of the word "Kira" with the word "Dicks". And you will pee yourself laughing over it like the inner twelve year olds you are.
> 
>  
> 
> "Yes. You’ve heard of dicks, I’m assuming?”
> 
> “Dicks.” He nodded. “I thought that would be right up your alley. I was about to suggest it, myself."
> 
>  
> 
> Especially since his father wouldn’t be allowed to tell him anything about dicks, on the off chance that he was working on it.
> 
>  
> 
> He hated it when other people claimed to be L, especially those undeserving of the title, but he couldn’t say anything yet. He had to pretend to track down dicks.
> 
>  
> 
> Light smiled and sat back in his chair, listening to L’s words. So, dicks have some sort of supernatural ability?
> 
>  
> 
> Light watched the television as it fuzzed out of the broadcast… then promptly turned the television off. He was burned out on all this dicks excitement for the night.
> 
>  
> 
> ... I swear, we're not children.
> 
> ... That's a lie. Never again, Ash. Never again.


	7. Miss Maki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Light makes a new friend.

     “I am L.”

     The next few minutes were filled with unexpectancies; at least, in the perspective of what remained of the Japanese police. L was nothing like they were thinking. For a genius of his level, you’d think he was a better groomed man and at least stood up straight. They were confronted by an odd man with terrible posture(Matsuda internally bet that if you cracked his back it’d sound like cracking a glowstick), messy black hair, and stone grey eyes that seemed frozen on the inside. He wasn’t even wearing socks; his toes were riddled with little scars here and there, and he occasionally wiggled them when he spoke.

     Meanwhile, the opposite was true from the perspective of L. He expected a group of about this size. In fact, he was surprised there was this many. From their faces, he could tell that about half of them were very experienced(for instance, Mr. Yagami), and the other half were very new(Matsuda). He could tell they wanted to question him, but he didn’t care any. He just scratched his ankle with the other foot’s toes, scratched the messy unkempt hair on his head, and continued to stare them one by one dead in the eye. A few of them were made uncomfortable by this, and some, he could tell, were probably thinking of leaving. But they wouldn’t. If they wanted to, they would have abandoned the group before coming into the hotel.

     One of the more determined of the group- of course, Light’s father- introduced himself first. He took out his ID and showed it to L, who made a mental note of real names and faces. Just in case. “I’m Yagami, of the NPA.”

     The not as determined but still enthusiastic young man introduced himself, and his ID, second. “I’m Matsuda.”

     Third. “I’m Aizawa.”

     Fourth. “Mogi.”

     Fifth. “Ukita.”

     L only took a moment to compare the order of their introductions to their willingness to solve the case. Mr. Yagami went first- of course, the chief of police would have the strongest sense of justice and willingness to cooperate with anyone to catch Kira. Matsuda seemed young and eager to please, which is probably why he went second. That, or he was _very_ new and was shadowing Mr. Yagami as well as copying his actions, like a duckling. Aizawa, out of the others, was probably there to get the case over with. To protect someone or more, maybe. Mogi might have been there for the same reason. Ukita… could just be there to prove himself, or he had nothing to lose.

     All of these were just theories, anyway. He’d need to spend more time with each of them to be able to tell for complete certain.

     “... I’m very sorry we’re late,” Mr. Yagami interrupted, “currently, the five of us are…”

     He trailed off as L pointed an ironically L-shaped finger gun at them. “Bang.”

     “What the Hell was that?” L noted Aizawa’s reaction. This one liked to understand the situation the most out of the group. Did he come here to understand Kira, or to be certain that Kira was gone if the time ever came?

     “Hm.” He put his arm down to his side. “If I were Kira, you’d be dead, Mr. Soichiro Yagami, chief of the NPA.”

     How ironic.

     “Kira needs a face and a name in order to commit murder. But I’m sure you already figured that much out, haven’t you?” He hoped so. He left as many clues as he possibly could without making it more obvious than an Encyclopedia Brown case. “Please do not give out your names so carelessly. Instead… let’s value our lives.”

     He heard Mr. Yagami and Matsuda mutter between each other about this fact. Yes, Matsuda was definitely new to the job. 90% certainty.

     “That’s enough small talk for now. Come this way.”

     “Oh, uh, right.” Matsuda spoke nervously.

     “Please turn off all your cellphones, handhelds, and any other communication devices, and leave them on the table right there.”

     “What, do you think we’re gonna be using our cellphones during this meeting to leak information?” _Aizawa’s insistence on having a full grasp on the situation would be more appreciated if he wasn’t so aggressive with it,_ L thought.

     Mr. Yagami turned to look at him. “It’s all right. Just do as he says.”

     L waited patiently. As the chief took out his phone, he glanced at it for a moment, as if remembering something, before looking up at L. “But before I do that, may I make one request?”

     “... Go ahead, Mr. Yagami.” L tilted his head slightly.

     “Someone wanted to talk to you. Could you take my phone and call the number on the screen?”

     “Who is it?”

     “It’s my son. You should know who he is if you investigated us.”

     …

     Light almost couldn’t believe how simple it seemed. Beneath the slotted folder was a piece of paper, describing perfectly the details and causes of death for all of the FBI agents. So how did they all die?

     … It wasn’t the paper, was it?

     He sighed and stuffed it into his jacket pocket. He was thinking about this too hard. He wanted to tell his dad, but it’d be insanely suspicious to own this, especially since these are likely the real names of all the agents.

     As he thought about it, he decided he pitied L. The power to kill people was what was truly corrupt. Justice should be served, but… not at the sacrifice of your own heart and soul. What good is a new world run by a corrupt leader?

     His phone began ringing, and it snapped him out of his deep thought. He got a call from his dad. Could this be about what they discussed a few days ago…?

     He answered the phone. “Hello?”

     “This is L. Light, you wanted to speak with me?”

     “...” His eyes widened. His father actually did it? They met each other in person? This was both good and terrible at the same time. Terrible because now L had access to his father, but good because it would be extremely stupid and suspicious to kill him. He was safe for now. “L? If that’s true, then… is my dad in there with you?”

     “Yes. I’m with him right now.”

     “... It’s an honor that you’re working with my father.” There was an undeniable tone of hostility in his voice. “So you’re on the Kira case, huh?”

     “I am.”

     “I’d like to work with you.”

     L didn’t respond to that.

     “Do you not trust me? I could prove myself to you. The rest of the police force know who I am, I helped them solve multiple other cases, just like you. Is that how you got your start?”

     “Actually… something like that.” There was another pause. “… I have no reason to stop you if your father accepts this idea.”

     “Really?" … He composed himself. "Let me know, then. You have my number.”

     “Right.” L hung up the phone.

     …

     “What did you both talk about, then?” Mr. Yagami took the phone from L and turned it off.

     “He wants to join the investigation, if that’s okay with you.”

     “... He wants to-- ?!”

     “I don’t expect you to have your answer right away. Think about it.”

     … Soichiro knew his son was a lot like him, in many ways. He was probably inspired by the speech over the family meeting they had, about where he’d never let evil win over justice… and if that was true, then even if he said no, there was nothing he could do to stop him. He just didn’t want to see his son getting hurt by trying to chase Kira. “L… do you think this is a good idea?”

     L stared at him for a while. “… I trust you, and by extension, I trust in your judgement of others. If your son can handle it-”

     “Then yes. I believe in my son, and I believe he could be a great help to the case.”

     “I’ll let him know later, then. For now, I’d like to share with you what I think about Kira so far… and I’m going to have to ask you to call me Ryuzaki from now on.”

     …

     “Whaaat? Does it have to be now?” Sayu pouted, looking up at her mother, a bag of chips in her hands.

     “Your father’s been pulling all-nighters with no change of clothes, so you’re going to bring these to him.”

     “But mooom, I totally promised my friends that I’d go out with them today!”

     Light overheard all of this as he walked out of his room. It was the perfect opportunity, actually, since he had just gotten a call back. _You can join us,_ L said, _but we want you to prove your deductive skills first._ That was fair. Whatever they wanted to throw at him, he’d take.

     “Why don’t I go? I could use a break.”

     Sayu grinned. “Thanks, Light! I owe you one next time!” She took a potato chip and ate it.

     “Just one second, I need to get something from my room.”

     “All right…” His mother smiled. “I’m not going anywhere.”

     He walked back up into his room and went to grab his jacket. He made sure his body would obscure the vision of whatever camera would be looking at him… as he carefully put the page with the FBI agents’ names in a desk drawer. But not before carefully tearing a bit of paper with no words from it and keeping it with him. Just in case it would be important. He doubted it, but…

     He put the jacket back on and went downstairs. “Okay, I’m ready.”

     His mother handed the bag of clothes to him. “Be careful. Take care of yourself.”

     “I will. Thanks, mom.”

     …

     Light entered the police station calmly with the bag of spare clothes in his hand. A woman with long, black hair was trying to talk with the people at the front desk.

     “Please. I need to speak directly with someone from the special investigation task force. It’s urgent!”

     “I’m sorry ma’am, but I cannot help you.” The receptionist spoke in the most professional voice he could. “As I already told you, there is no one in the task force headquarters right now.”

     Light knew it was because they were with L, but she probably didn’t. Just what did she want to tell them, anyway?

     “Can’t you contact them somehow? I have information relating to the Kira investigation!”

     She did? That was good. If he could convince her to tell him, he could pass the information along to the task force.

     Light began to step forward.

     The receptionist leaned forward slightly, still talking to the woman. “Look, I’ll call headquarters one more time for you.”

     “... Hi, I’m detective Soichiro Yagami’s son, Light Yagami.” He walked over to stand next to her, talking to the second receptionist on duty as he put the bag of clothes on the counter. “I brought my father a change of clothes, but it doesn’t look like he’s in. Can I leave them here?”

     “Sure!” The receptionist smiled and seemed to lighten up a bit upon seeing him. “Hey, I haven’t seen you in a while, Light.”

     “Oh… I’m sorry, uh…”

     “What, you don’t remember?” He took the bag of clothes. “You helped solve the insurance fraud murder investigation, sometime last year. But hey… no one remembers the receptionist, do they?”

     “I’m sorry, I’m terrible with faces. I just need to sign my name on this form, right?” He leaned forward and began to write.

     “So, Light.” His voice got slightly quieter. “Does this mean you’re gonna be helping us with the Kira investigation, too?”

     “Sure! If all goes well, maybe I’ll find Kira before L does.”

     The woman’s eyes widened slightly at that remark, but she didn’t try to get in on their conversation. Her receptionist tried to tell her, no, nobody’s at the phone right now, for the last time.

     Light took the opportunity to talk to her. “Excuse me.”

     She turned to look at him, and he continued.

     “My father is actually in charge of the Kira investigation. If you’d like, I could pass your message onto him.”

     … She didn’t say anything as he paused, she just stared. So he kept speaking. “His cellphone is off at the moment, but I should be able to contact him soon. … A number of FBI agents were just killed, and a lot of detectives have quit the case because they’re afraid of Kira, so he’s pretty busy right now.”

     “... Uh, Light…” The man behind the desk interrupted. “It’s probably better if you don’t discuss this with…”

     “... True, but it’s practically common knowledge at this point. Besides… I feel like I can trust her.” It was something about her eyes that reminded him of someone, though he couldn’t put a finger on exactly who it was. He turned his head to talk to her. “You heard about what happened, and you must’ve figured out that the police had a leak of some kind. And that’s why you wanted to tell them in person. You thought this through. … Well, am I right?”

     She gasped quietly, and was silent for a moment before speaking. “Yes… that’s right.”

     “Do you want to talk about this on a walk? I was gonna go home soon, but a little bit more fresh air wouldn’t hurt.”

     “... Yeah, sure.”

     Light turned to walk out of the building, and she followed next to him.

     “I’ll send my father a message for you, and I’m sure he’ll call me back once he checks them. When he does, I’ll give you the phone and let you talk to him.”

     She stopped walking for a second. “You’re sure that’s all right?”

     “Sure! You understand why I can’t just give you my father’s cellphone number, but I have no problem letting you use my phone to talk to him.” He laughed it off quietly.

     “Thank you so much.” She bowed.

     A bit of time has passed as they started walking along the path before Light spoke again. “I’ve gotta say, you must be pretty brave to be getting involved with the Kira case like this.”

     “No. Not really.”

     “So, according to you, is Kira some,” he cleared his throat, “uh… we’ve been talking, and I just realized I don’t even know your name. I’m Light Yagami. ”

     “My name is Shoko Maki.”

     “Miss Maki, right?”

     They continued to discuss their theories on Kira’s abilities. _Kira can control a victim before their death,_ said Light. _Kira might be able to kill in ways other than a heart attack,_ said Miss Maki.

     In the midst of their discussion, Miss Maki pulled a bit of a curveball. “I’m almost positive that someone I know may have met Kira.”

     “Met Kira?” She stared at him for his incredulous reaction, and he quickly tried to catch himself. No need to be rude. “I’m sorry, but if a person came in saying they ‘met Kira’, the police would be more than a little skeptical, to say the least.”

     “I know… that’s why I need to explain it in person to someone from task force headquarters. Otherwise, I’m afraid they’ll just write me off.”

     “But… wouldn’t it be better if your ‘friend’ spoke to them instead?”

     “..." She had to pause, as if building up the strength to voice her next thought. “It probably would but he’s no longer alive. He was one of the twelve FBI agents that came to Japan to investigate Kira.”

     Light felt his stomach drop. Suddenly, he wasn’t too excited about getting this information to headquarters. He felt… a responsibility for Raye’s(and all the other agents’) death. No matter how hard he tried to distance himself when it happened, he still felt the man’s dying eyes staring at him in disbelief. It killed him on the inside to see it happen… and to have met someone who was grieving because of it…

     “You see, he was also my fiancé. While he was working, he got caught up in a bus jacking, and I have reason to believe that he met Kira on that bus.”

     Oh… God. He was right. Not only did Kira do that to demonstrate his abilities to Light, he did it to frame him. This was all just a damn setup, and in doing so, he hurt this innocent woman. She seemed so nice, too. … Lucky for Light, though, he pulled the trick with the earpieces. He hoped someone would catch on to that subtle cry for help, be it Miss Maki or- or _anyone_ , really.

     … She turned to look at him. “Is something wrong?”

     “N- nothing, I’m… sorry to hear that he passed away.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. His fingers felt the piece of paper. “So, what makes you think he met Kira on that bus…?”

     There was an even longer pause. “Because eight days after that bus was hijacked… he died, along with the other FBI investigators. The same man had attempted to rob a bank two days before he hijacked that bus, and he dies in an accident? Just like that? I mean, really, what are the odds? I come to believe that Kira set up that bus jacking. It was planned to bring him in contact with my fiancé in order to obtain the identities of the other FBI agents so he could get rid of them all. Anyway… what stands out to me is that the hijacker died in an accident. In other words… it suggests that heart attacks aren’t the only way Kira can kill people.”

     They both stopped walking at a crosswalk with a light that wasn’t ready for them yet.

     “Okay, so the bus jacker didn’t die of a heart attack, and based on that you’re saying that Kira has other ways of killing people?”

     “Yes.”

     “... It seems like a bit of a stretch, but I believe you. But… before you continue on, can I mention something that’s been bothering me?”

     “Oh… of course.”

     “As you were telling that story, I’m wondering if Kira wanted us to come to this conclusion. You know… to throw us off.”

     “... I don’t see it. Can you elaborate a bit?”

     “Sure. Basically, what if Kira knew we would figure all of this out, and he sent someone else to get all that information for him? I’m not saying you’re wrong or anything- in fact, I completely believe you. But it’s a possibility that tracking this person down won’t lead to us finding Kira, just someone who was meant to take his place.”

     “...” She paused, then sighed. “I suppose that’s right. There are so many different ways it could have been, this was just the most likely situation to me, considering what happened to him on that bus. He was forced into a situation where he had to show his ID to somebody. That’s why I thought it was Kira. But if you’re right, and that person was just a decoy… oh, I don’t know. But I still think Kira orchestrated it, and that information needs to be brought up.”

     “I’m not denying that at all. You could be absolutely right, and your testimony could be central to the case.”

     She smiled. “It… could.”

     “And if we bring up this information, it could bring us that much closer to finding him.”

     “That’s right.”

 _She’s very smart… I’m impressed._ Light thought quietly as they walked side by side once the crosswalk light allowed them to pass. _But just the fact that she knows all this is a danger to herself and to me. If she finds the ties that I might be Kira, I’m framed… and if Kira finds out about her and what she knows, she could die. But maybe… since I’m pretty sure L is Kira, maybe I could convince the rest of the task force to bring her onto the team. And if she’s on the team, it would be too suspicious for L to kill her, and she’d theoretically be safe. It’s a risk to my own innocence, but it could work in saving her life. I owe her that much._

     She stopped, and again, asked. “Is something wrong?”

     “No… it’s nothing. But the more I think about it, the more your theory makes sense to me. We can’t waste any time, we need to start investigating it right away.”

     “What? Really? Do you mean that?”

     “Yes, of course. Have you told anyone else about this?”

     “No, you’re the only person I’ve told.”

     “Well, then we better find a way to get this information to them as fast as possible.”

     …

     “I apologize for questioning all of you like that, but I’m afraid I had no other choice. I’ve determined that Kira is not among us.” As L spoke these words, the rest of the task force breathed a single, united sigh of relief. None of them knew about the hypocrisy.

     He continued to explain that he was going to set up some traps to determine the likelihood of one of them being Kira, but that he no longer felt the need to. He also received a phone call ( _It’s unfair that he told_ **_us_ ** _to turn off_ **_our_ ** _cellphones,_ thought Matsuda) from Watari, who would be arriving shortly. Nobody except L saw the Shinigami in the room, but she was rather irritated that L was drinking what was supposed to be her tea.

     …

     “Kira will definitely be caught. Don’t you think?”

     “Hm?” Light was trailing behind her, at this point. They paused their talking for a while, and she had just broken the silence. “Oh, sorry. Yeah, of course he will. Why wouldn’t I think that way?”

     “I don’t know. Just making conversation, I guess. You seem nice.”

     “... Thank you.” He felt even guiltier about Raye’s death now. _That wasn’t my fault though, right? Then why do I feel so terrible?_ “You seem nice, yourself. Thanks for talking with me.”

     “The pleasure’s all mine. … I should probably be getting back soon, though. Someone from the task force may be there by now.”

     “Oh, yeah, you could be right. Let’s cross our fingers and hope someone’s there.”

     “Yeah.” She turned around and started heading the other way. Light turned as well and walked behind her, and they resumed their usual silence. Though he felt guilty, he also was oddly calm in her presence. He trusted that she’d be smart enough to figure out about the blackmailing without directly telling her, so…

     “... Excuse me.”

     “Yes?”

     “Do you still have business at the police station? I’d like to go there by myself, if you don’t mind.”

     “Oh. Yeah, no problem.”

     “But thank you so much for everything you’ve done, Light. After talking to you, I feel much more confident about my theory.”

     “Not at all.”

     She bowed again and began to walk away.

     “... Wait.”

     She turned back around. “Yes?”

     “The thing is- I don’t think you could contact anyone from the task force directly.”

     “Huh? I can’t contact anyone? But why not?”

     “Didn’t you find it a bit odd that no one was at task force headquarters?”

     “Well… yeah, I did find it a bit strange, but…”

     “Let me explain.” He paused for a moment to think. “Have you seen the emergency ICPO broadcast on television?”

     “The one lead by L?” She seemed to get a little bit more relaxed when she said the name. “Yes, I do. I wasn’t able to see it live, but I watched it.”

     “Well, because he suspects that Kira lives in this area, he’s actually leading an investigation here. And odds are, he’s probably made their base of operations somewhere else other than the task force headquarters, and he won’t let Kira know he’s there until the moment strikes. The reason why you won’t be able to get in contact with them is because… well, there’s nobody there.”

     “That seems odd. How do you know all this if it’s supposed to be a secret?”

     “Yeah... you’re smart. It’s because I… recently got accepted in as a member of the task force.”

     “... You’re telling me you’re an agent?”

     “Yeah. L said as long as my father gave permission, I could join. And since they’re pretty low on members, as so many detectives quit the case, he was a bit more eager to accept me than he would have been.”

     “So… L trusts you, then?”

     “... In a pretty roundabout way, yeah.” He sure damn trusted me enough to blackmail me into playing this game. At least, if he is Kira… but he most likely is. “I was just told a little while ago where the new headquarters is, and I’m actually doing my own investigations myself.”

     “Oh… … Thanks for explaining, but I’d still like to try checking the task force headquarters again. Just to be certain.”

     “By all means. May I go with you, then? If anyone shows up, I mean.”

     “They probably will. It seems odd for L not to have anyone there, don’t you think?”

     “Now that you mention it, yeah. Maybe if we wait, someone will come around.”

     “... But yes. Let’s go.”

     And off they walked, to the task force headquarters, which at this point was a very short distance away. They made it there together in no time.

     “... You think we should go inside or wait out here?” Light turned to face her as they stood in front of the building. “I don’t know if anybody got there while we were gone."

     “It’d be better to wait inside.” She glanced up at the sky. “It looks like it’s about to storm.”

     “... Huh? I didn’t even notice. Okay, let’s go.”

     They entered the building, and Light waved to the receptionists at the desk. “Has anyone shown up while we were gone?”

     “Uh… no. But we’ll let you know if anyone does show up.”

     “No, that’s fine.” Miss Maki looked at the door. “We’re going to wait here, if that’s okay.”

     “Okay… I think we can allow that. Just not for too long.”

     Light sat down, as did she. It wasn’t so bad talking with her, and she had her own fascinating insights on the case, herself.

     They spoke in hushed tones, so much that the receptionists couldn’t hear. Apparently, she was an FBI agent that worked with L in the past, in America… she was even more remarkable than he originally thought. No wonder why she seemed so trustworthy to him, right off the bat. They got along pretty well, too. It was… almost a shame, though, how much she respected L, when Light didn’t have a good word to say. That was the only thing they couldn’t agree on.

     It had just started snowing when Aizawa walked in.

     …

     In the middle of a discussion in the task force, Watari’s phone began to ring. He retrieved it from his pocket and flipped it open. “It’s Aizawa.”

     “Already?” Matsuda gripped the edge of the seat. “Is he in danger?”

     “Let’s hope not,” L muttered as he took a sip from his teacup. The belts were given to them to send a distress signal, and it seemed they were already in use. He hoped this wouldn’t be a reoccurring thing, he’d hate to have to send Watari to open a pickle jar for Matsuda or something.

    Watari called Aizawa’s phone, and for a little while, he just stood there, listening. “I see. Do you want me to hand the phone over to Ryuzaki, then?”

     L held out his hand, and after a few seconds, he held it up to his ear. “Yes?”

“... Ryuzaki, huh?” He knew that voice.


	8. He Sees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two new faces. A runaway. A second.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, remember the friend I mentioned in the notes at the end of Chapter 6?
> 
> ... They helped me write this chapter.
> 
> Fun times. Fuuuun tiiiimes.
> 
> Also! Some of you might be wondering why this chapter was posted on 8/28 at 11 pm rather than 8/29 at 12 am. I was tired and I wanted to get to sleep, so I just posted it early. Merry Christmas. :P

     Light, Miss Maki, and Aizawa stood before the door to the hotel room; one was visibly more nervous than the other two.

     “Are you okay?” Maki turned to look at him, while Aizawa’s hand was still posed before the door, getting ready to knock. “I’ll be honest- I’ve never met L in person, but I don’t think he’s that bad.”

     “Well… he looks pretty underwhelming, if you ask me,” Aizawa added.

     “Yeah, don’t worry, I’m fine.” Light straightened his back and cleared his throat. “It’s just…”

     “… You don’t have to finish that sentence.” She put a hand reluctantly on his shoulder. “I’m sure he’ll clear up any doubts you might have.”

_Definitely. Any doubts he may or may not be Kira, but she doesn’t know that yet._

     She glanced between him and the door. “So, are you ready?”

     “Yes. I am.”

     Aizawa nodded and, finally, knocked on the door.

     “Come in,” L’s voice spoke through.

     The door swung open. First stepped in Aizawa, then Miss Maki, and finally, Light. They walked in a relatively straight line, so Light couldn’t immediately see what was in front of him- but he caught a glimpse of something odd, so he kept trying to poke his neck around to see. He finally caught it in his vision when the both of them caught on and stepped out of the way.

     Light’s first reaction was to scream, but as he inhaled, he reminded himself that it would reflect poorly on him if he drew attention to the room- so instead, he let his voice catch in his throat, and he started coughing violently into his sleeve. His father ran to see if he was okay.

     …

     “So…” An adolescent boy’s voice spoke. “You’re doing your own investigation of the Kira case, huh?”

     “Of course I am.” A child around the same age but with a softer voice replied. “Though that’s nothing special. Half of the children in this Institution are using this as a chance to practice investigating.”

     “Yeah, obviously. But I figured, since you’re above everyone in the ranks of this place…” His tone suggested more than a little bit of resentment, “that you had access to more information than anyone usually would. I wanted to see if that was true.”

     “…” Strands of hair twirled around his thin, pale fingers. “I haven’t had much room for comparison. Everyone seems to have taken it upon themselves to keep their investigations private, though I have managed to build up quite a file.”

     Mello thought it was a good idea not to mention the fact that he had already _‘convinced’_ a few of the other kids to give him what they already knew. “Anything you ran into that you can’t figure out yourself?”

     “…” _Why are you offering? The last thing you would want to do is help me. Unless, of course, you can help yourself along the way. If I_ did _accept this offer, I’d have to show you what I have so far, wouldn’t I? Hmm._ Out loud, however, Near only stated, “I understand the information I’ve managed to gather. Though... I do have one question that you might be able to help me with.”

 _Damn it. I didn’t mean for him to see it as an offer for help, but if that’s how he wants to play this…_ “Okay, fine. What is it?”

     “If you want to see my notes, why not just ask? This case isn’t an assignment, so there’s no point in treating it like a competition.” The younger boy glanced up at Mello from his spot on the ground for a brief moment, before picking up the folder that sat next to him. He carefully slid some stray puzzle pieces off before offering it. “Here. Look through them and see if you come to the same conclusion I did. There’s a few other things to consider, but that’s all the physical information I have, and there’s no TV in this room.”

 _Okay, getting right to the point. That’s fine._ Mello took the folder and sat next to him while he looked through the information. One in particular caught his attention. A photograph taken from a recording.

     “Hey, Near… is the video version of this clearer? I have an idea, but I need to be sure.”

     “It is a little bit clearer, though again, there’s no TV in this room. And it might not be the best idea to watch it around everyone else. I’m not sure I want to explain how I got that video.”

     “Let’s go, then. Kira’s not gonna catch himself, right?”

     …

     “Light? Are you okay?” Soichiro patted his son on the back, trying not to be too rough with him.

     “I’m- fine, I just-” Light coughed again into his arm. “Caught something- in my throat. I’m okay now.”

     Soichiro’s son grabbed onto his arm and pulled himself up. Light had to keep himself from staring at the… the ‘monster’ in the room. He wasn’t sure exactly what it was, or why no one else could see it. Judging by the reaction on L/Ryuzaki’s face, though…

     “That aside.” Mogi glanced between the two newcomers. “Welcome aboard, Light and...”

     “Shoko Maki. ‘Maki’ is fine.”

     “Maki. That’s a fine name.” L looked up from his cookies. “Not what I would’ve gone with…”

     She smirked slightly. “It’s better than Ryuzaki.”

     “Touché.” He didn’t laugh or show any expression other than deadpan, but it wasn’t too hard to tell he was amused. “By the way, I thought you were retired. What brings you here… Maki?”

     Her smile slowly faded. “Well… you see…”

     …

     “He’s one of the FBI agents that were sent to Japan, isn’t he?”

     “Yes, he was. They all ended up the same way.”

     Mello stood next to Near(who, at the time, was sitting in a chair), both facing a television screen after making sure that nobody was around to spy on what they were doing. “Who’s the guy who came out to help him?”

     Near was still messing with his hair as he spoke. “He would be the most obvious suspect to be Kira, considering what I’ve managed to gather about the train incident.”

     “If he’s Kira, then he’s pretty stupid.” He put his hands on the television’s table and leaned forward to see the screen closer. “But there’s still something I’m wondering about… go forward a little and pause it. Right when he moves his hands from his head.”

     Near had to lean slightly to the side, since Mello was blocking the reach of remote, before he could manage to do as directed. “If he’s Kira, then I’d have to agree. But… do you think he’s Kira?”

     “There’s a chance...” Mello finally pulled himself away from the television and turned to look at Near. The light from the screen reflected on the side of his head. “Do you have the agent’s autopsy report or not?”

     “It’s in the file I gave you.” Though he didn’t say it aloud, Mello likely understood the last half of the sentence. _If you went through so much trouble to get it, you could have at least looked through it._

     Regardless of what Near was thinking, Mello picked up the file, thumbed through it, and eventually found the report. “So I was right. His belongings included an earpiece, which he was wearing before he died. So, if they were communicating for whatever reason, this is how. But that doesn’t answer one question.”

     Near raised an eyebrow without looking at him. _Did you draw the same conclusion?_ “And that is…?”

     “Why in the Hell was the other guy wearing _two_?”

     …

     “So, he was your fiancé. I’m sorry to hear about that,” Ryuzaki licked a bit of frosting from his cookies, “but what you had to say about the bus jacking… it’s very interesting.”

     “Thank you.” ‘Maki’- though the detective knew her as Naomi- nodded slightly. “I know your time is very valuable.”

     “Of course it is, that’s why I spent it listening to your testimony. Especially since we were just investigating Raye’s death- along with the other agents of course, but primarily him. Watari?”

     “Yes?”

     “You have the footage on tape, correct?” He turned to make eye contact with Light. They both knew why, but nobody else noticed. “Let’s see exactly what happened that day.”

     “Uh…” Light cleared his throat. “I actually have something to say about that.”

     …

     “I have a theory on the whole earpiece thing.” Mello crossed his arms. “The guy looked right at the camera before taking them both out, so I’m pretty sure he was trying to send a message. Like he wanted someone to know they were there or something. I doubt Kira would do anything like that to draw attention to himself, so I’m thinking it’s just… _too_ obvious to be him.”

     He pointed at the screen as he talked. “What I’m thinking is this; he wanted us to know he was talking with Raye before his death, but that wasn’t all. There’s another person in the mix. Somebody _else_ talking to _him_. And either that third person is on the train with them, or…” He paused. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to say the next part. “Or, the third person has access to an undetectable way to communicate long distances.”

     “... Similar to the transceivers that were modified for our own use, hmm?”

     Mello pulled an earpiece out of his pocket. “I went and got this for comparison. Do you think we could pull some strings and get some info about the one Raye had on him when he died?”

     Near nodded, slowly. “We probably could, though we would need to get Roger to speak for us. I’m not so sure the American Government would be keen on giving this information to a couple of children. Of course, there are always ways around that.”

     “You don’t need to tell me that. That’s like the first lesson they teach you here.” _Roger might be willing to comply if he thinks we’re actually working together for once. … Gross. Maybe I can get a way to find out for myself._ “And if we’re right, then…”

     “Then that means not only is the man from the video not Kira, but that Kira has access to things specific to Wammy’s house. Kira could very well be one of us.”

     “… We need to find out who was being investigated by the FBI, then. Because if this guy with the earpieces is someone that L was given information on… then… you see where I’m going with this.”

     Near just nodded. “Yes, I see. We might very well be on the track to finding Kira. At least… The first Kira.”

     … Mello turned to stare at him. “Excuse me?”

     “I was tracking as many of the suspected Kira killings as I could, and I noticed a deviation. It didn’t go away, so I began to map it separately, and it seems to be a new pattern that points to a second Kira.” He paused for a moment, eyeing the wall as he worked out what to say next. “A second and potentially more powerful Kira. This new pattern… Even criminals whose names were misspelled or neglected were killed. Which leads me to believe that this Kira might either doesn’t need names to kill, or has some other method of figuring names out.” He glanced from the wall to Mello, for just a moment, before looking back at the television. “That information is also in the file.”

     “Well sue me, I didn’t read all of it.”

     “There hasn’t been much time for you to read all of it, but for future reference. It’s in the file.” _Most of the information is there. Of course, that’s not the only copy, and I’m not sure I’ll get it back... but it’s there._ Honestly, it would be easier on them both if they continued to work together, depending on the circumstances.

     “Okay, okay. I’ll put that on my to-do list then.” He clicked his nails against the table as he thought to himself. “Do you have any leads on _that_ one in the file?”

     “No, not yet. All I’ve managed to compile thus far is evidence that a second Kira exists. Getting leads on that one will be a challenge. At least, it will be until after we’ve caught the first Kira, though I do wonder how many of these people are going to show up.”

     “I’d be more afraid of the better Kira.” He sighed slightly. “This case might last a while then, if it’s just gonna be one giant game of Whack-A-Kira. Hit one, another pops up.”

     “Especially if more tend toward this ability. It will make it more difficult to track them down, as it would be extremely risky to reveal our faces to anyone we might suspect. Considering everything I’ve found… I destroyed every picture of myself that existed here. I recommend you do the same, if possible.”

     “… Good plan.” He picked up the file, turned off the TV monitor, and headed towards the door. “I’ll be right back.”

     …

     Nobody could quite believe the words that came out of Light’s mouth. He didn’t give the full story, of course- that would be far too risky. Using Ryuzaki’s own words against him, he’s ‘childish and hates to lose’. That was confusing as all Hell to Light. Why would you challenge someone, hoping to lose, if you hate losing? Or did he just say it that way so Light would think that he had a shot, and he’d play the ‘game’?

_Well, bad move, Kira. I’m not backing down, and I never will._

     “… Light, why didn’t you think to bring this up earlier?” Maki didn’t sit down. In fact, she was stood in front of him, back straight and expression stern. “Didn’t you think this would be important?”

     “I already told you something about this.” Light said this, knowing he never mentioned it. But he was hoping she’d get the hint… “Don’t you remember? I gave you my thoughts on the bus jacking, didn’t I? And what did I tell you?”

     “You told me that there-” … She paused. Her eyes widened slightly in realization. _He said that somebody might have been sent as a decoy… is this what you meant by that?_ “-there was a chance that Kira wasn’t alone.”

     Ukita exchanged stern glances with the others and furrowed his eyebrows. “What’s that have to do with anything? Are you saying you’re working for Kira, Light?”

     “I’m saying that Kira might not have been alone on that bus or that train, that’s all. He seems to keep showing up everywhere I go.”

     “So what you’re saying is, Kira is following you and leaving evidence in your wake…” Ryuzaki glanced over at him. “Whether or not you’re telling the truth, it stands to say that if we put cameras in your room, we could find decent evidence of Kira’s whereabouts. Wouldn’t you agree?”

     “…” Soichiro stared at Ryuzaki. “You’re going to put security cameras in my son’s room?”

     “What if Kira tries to follow him? What then?”

     “… Light…”

     “I’m okay with it, dad.” He knew this meant giving up his privacy to the man whom he suspected of being Kira, but he was willing to make that sacrifice to prove his innocence. “If anything, it’ll be like having an emergency security system.”

     Ryuzaki brought his thumb to his mouth. “Then it’s settled. Watari, when would you be able to set up the cameras?”

     “As soon as everyone is going to be out of the house.”

     “Perfect.”

     The thing Light saw earlier… was still there, hovering over Ryuzaki, watching him. He didn’t expect it when he heard her speak. “This is a dangerous game you’re playing…”

     Light took it as a warning. Ryuzaki took it as a hint.

     …

 _I’ll be right back._ Mello laughed to himself. _What a joke._

     As if he would stay and help Near. As if he wouldn’t take this information and run with it on his own. As if he wouldn’t treat this like a competition. _In your wildest dreams._ Mello stuffed the folder full of Near’s work into a backpack, along with some survival equipment, a book, some writing utensils, chocolate bars, spare money, just about anything he would need for his trip. He was planning on going to Japan, the heart of the case, to affect it directly. He wasn’t just going to sit by and work passively. No way.

     As he made his way out of the building, he left the picture of himself behind.

     …

_This isn’t something I can just ignore. I have to talk to him._

     Maki- Naomi- thought to herself as the group reviewed the tapes of her fiancé’s death. _Light was there, clearly, but he made it a point to look at the camera. The Kira the police knows wouldn’t do something like that… somebody who was desperate might. Desperate for what?_

     She opened her mouth to speak when, before she could, she was approached by Watari. “… Yes? What is it?”

     “Someone would like to speak with you privately. Do you have a moment?”


	9. Dark Sky, Bright Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quite a few coincidences have happened and will happen.
> 
> It's funny how the world works, when manipulated with strings.

     Naomi was, of course, hesitant to talk to this anonymous somebody; but she trusted L, and if he trusted Watari’s judgement in others, then she did too. She initially asked who the call was from, but in front of the others, he only stated “That information has to be kept private”.

     She glanced at everyone, still surveying the morbid scene of Raye’s death on the television and in her mind on repeat, before nodding and stepping forward.

     He led her into another room where a laptop was set up. The screen was blank, nothing but white light pouring from it.

     “Is that a mistake?” She looked over at Watari.

     “No, this is him. He requested for me to keep everything about him anonymous to everyone else.”

     “…”  _ Why?  _ That was the first question to pop into her head.  _ And why does he care? _ “Okay... my name is Shoko Maki. What should I call you?”

     “Hello, Miss Maki,” the voice, evidently altered with a familiar yet different voice changer from the one the man in the other room used. “I think it would appropriate to call me… N.”

     There was a brief pause. “Though perhaps not to anybody outside this room. That would defeat the purpose of asking Watari to pull you aside.”

     She stared at the screen, saying nothing for a little while as she pondered the implications in her head.  _ So, the fact that he wants his name to be kept a secret… it either means he doesn’t want the word getting out- which is unlikely, as this is considered a very dependable group of people- or the more likely answer, which is that someone will recognize it. … Only one way to find out. _

     “… Who are you trying to keep this meeting hidden from?”

     “Though this task force was put together by L, I don’t have much information on them or their skills. You’ve displayed remarkable abilities in the past, and I feel as though you have significant reason to want Kira caught, regardless of who might be behind the name.” 

_      He must have a lot of information about the case already, then. _ “You couldn’t have just talked to L?” She cleared her throat. “Not… trying to be rude. I just don’t understand.”

     “… You are a very smart person. I think you can figure out why I wouldn’t want to speak with L regarding this.” 

     “So you suspect him.”

     “Yes. I have my reasons. My word and what I’ve managed to compile so far, however, won’t stand well when compared to the world’s greatest detective.” 

     “… I’m assuming then that you asked Watari for a list of people who were part of the task force and selected me based on my qualifications?”

     “I asked him to keep me updated on who the members of the task force were, yes. I found your qualifications when I was researching the FBI agents who went to Japan.” There was another brief pause. “I have a few questions about your fiancé that I would like you to answer, if possible.”

     “… Okay.” She sounded a bit hesitant, but she’d respond if it wasn’t an answer that would put the case in too much jeopardy if it leaked. It’s not that she didn’t trust Watari’s judgement- he was making sure everything went alright, after all. It’s just that she was understandably a bit paranoid. “Go on.”

     “I’d like to know who he was investigating before he died. Specifically, within the last few days before his death.”

     “He never told me. That information was kept classified.” … She paused for a moment as she realized something. “But now I’m wondering why L- or anyone, really- hasn’t told me yet.”

     “… They haven’t?” 

     “No.” She turned to look at the door. “… I can go ask.”

     “If you wouldn’t mind, though it might look a bit suspicious if you immediately came back to talk to me.” 

     “When she asks,” Watari mentioned, “I can relay the information back to you.”

     “That’s fine with me.” Naomi looked over at the white laptop screen. “I want to know just as much as you do.” She took a deep breath and sighed. She was talking through a laptop to someone who only went by a letter, suspecting a man using the alias ‘Ryuzaki’… God, this was familiar. “So, N. Do you really... think L is Kira?”

     “There are a few possibilities, but L is the strongest subject, as well as a worst case scenario. I’d like to be able to determine his innocence or guilt before I start to look at the other possibilities, or attempt to locate the second Kira.”

     “I think we can all agree, we hope that isn’t the case- wait. … Nobody’s said anything to me about a second Kira. What  _ else  _ am I not being told?”

     “This is my own personal suspicion. I wasn’t aware if it had been brought to the attention of the task force, though I’m certain that Kira is aware of them. I have a… very strong suspicion on who that is as well, however I don’t want to throw that accusation without more solid evidence.” 

     “All right. That’s fair, I guess.”

     “Please don’t misunderstand, it’s not that I don’t trust you, I just… Hope I’m wrong about that particular theory.”

     “… I won’t press you on it then. If there’s not much solid evidence, like you said, then there’d be no reason to. Anything else you want to say before I go?”

     “Just to ask you again not to mention who you spoke with. L could quite easily determine my identity just by knowing how I communicated with you.”

     “… Right.” She turned. Watari opened the door for her, and she muttered a quick ‘thank you’ before walking out. He shut the door behind her.

     She didn’t let the implications of the conversation she just had fully register in her mind. She already had a lot going on, she didn’t need to mull over the fact that the man who killed her fiancé might also be the man whom she agreed to work under now and so long ago.

     … It was almost too much, but she could handle it. She was strong.

     “Watari.”

     “Yes?”

     She glanced at the door before looking him back in the eye. “What do you think?”

     “Well… I trust his intuition, but I hope he’s wrong.”

     “You too?”

     “Of course.”

     “… Then whatever happens, let’s make an agreement not to let our emotions get in the way.”

     He nodded solemnly.

     …

     While Naomi was gone in the other room, L thought through the situation in silence. Who would specifically want to talk to her, especially since she’d only just arrived? Someone who had connections with someone in the group, likely… which narrowed it down quite heavily, considering most people here put their communication devices off to the side. It must have been Watari who gave the information. But who would Watari trust enough to tell? And he couldn’t just ask- that would be very suspicious, especially considering that if the person didn’t want to talk to him, there must be a reason… and if they were onto him, then it would only cement their theory even more if he insisted in knowing.

     He could feel his heart beating. Oh, how rapidly the game progressed, how swiftly, how bold and passionate the players. He bit his nail tightly, and the other hand pressed against the table next to his coffee, cracking his knuckles.

     “Ryuzaki.”

     The voice, coming from just next to him, was too distant to be heard. He gritted his teeth, and he continued staring at the television screen- the bluish tint that glazed over the dark room.

     “… Hello. Ryuzaki.” Light put his hand on his shoulder and shook him slightly, knocking him out of it. L blinked and looked up at him.

     “Hey, what’s going on?” Aizawa leaned forward in his seat slightly. “You’re nearly biting your fingers raw.”

     L looked down at his red fingertips. “Oh, am I?”

     … Light cleared his throat. “I still have entrance exams to study for. I have to go home now.”

     “That’s all? Okay, fine. We’ll have the cameras set up tomorrow while you’re out.”

     “… Comforting.”

     Light picked up his jacket from the chair he was formerly sitting in and headed out the door. He would have said goodbye to his father, but he was currently doing his shift at the police station- he’d just have to greet him when he came home.

     There was another blur of time where he took a familiar route back home, and on the way, he had nothing but the company of his own thoughts and fears and everything that was going around in his head. It was never quiet- a brilliant mind never was.

     But eventually, he was home. And then he wasn’t alone.

     “Hey, Light!” Sayu called from the living room when he opened the door. “Geez, how many times are you gonna come home late? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

     He couldn’t help but smile. “You caught me. I’m secretly a real detective at night.”

     “I wouldn’t doubt it, but you and I both know that’s probably not the real reason.” She hopped off of her spot, skipped in front of him, and wore her best mischievous grin. “Are you going out on dates?”

     “Oh, wow. Are you a detective in your spare time, Sayu? I’m dating a model, I can’t believe you figured it out.”

     “A model? I’m impressed, totally. And I’m not gonna confirm nor deny that statement.”

     He winked. “Okay. I’m gonna go study now. Don’t bother me or else.”

     “Or else what?”

     “Or else.”

     She snickered. “Okay, whatever, Mr. Big Tough Guy. Have fun being a smarty pants.”

     He shook his head, still smiling, and walked up into his room.

     Well, it was a pleasant respite from his constant thought processes that flowed like a river of riptides, and it even managed to distract him for a little while. Maybe studying could help him keep his mind off of it too.

     … It didn’t work nearly as well. Considering he already knew this material, and studying it over and over again was just supposed to help keep it fresh in his mind, it was far too easy to let his mind wander away from it. He just… needed a little break. That would be good for him.

     He walked back downstairs, shutting his bedroom door behind him.

     “Hey, Sayu. Where’s mom?”

     She shrugged. “Busy? At the store? I was kinda distracted.” She pointed at Hideki Ryuga on the television.

     “Okay. Well, when you see her, tell her I went out to get coffee.”

     “On a date?”

     “Sure. On a date.”

     “Will do! Have fun!”

     Half the reason he went back downstairs was to talk to her, honestly.

     His jacket was back on, and he was out of the door again. It had barely gotten any darker, so it felt like no time had passed between him entering and leaving the house. … It was actually quite nice outside. The sky was dark, but the stars weren’t out yet, save for one. A lonely, bright star, caught in the dark.

     He turned around when he had to cross the street, and he noticed something. The star wasn’t entirely alone, there was a second one in the sky. But it was so far apart, the two seemingly didn’t coexist with one another. It was somewhat poetic, in a way. Taken literally, stars have no way of being sentient- but it didn’t stop him.

     The poetry was nice and sweet, as well as the memory of the conversations with his sister- but it didn’t last long when you had a lot more on your mind. The first half of his journey to the little café was pretty short, but the second half felt agonizingly long. Thankfully, though, he finally made it.

     It was relatively quiet, being how late it was, so it wasn’t long before he was seated. He ordered a black coffee-- he didn’t think he wanted anything to do with sugar for a while, now.

     He barely even drank it when it arrived. It was too hot for now, anyway. He took one of the stirring straws and mixed it around half-heartedly.

     … He only looked up when he heard someone get up and sit across from him.

     “Hi! Sorry if I’m intruding or anything…” A girl with pony-tailed blonde hair and a bubbly smile sat across from him. “You just looked really sad, and I wanted to see if I could buy you an ice cream. The sundaes here are really good, I just had one.”

     “…” Light was quiet for a few seconds. He wasn’t really expecting this at all. “Uh… yeah, sure, thank you.”

     “My name is Misa Amane. You can call me Misa-Misa if you really want to, most people do when they just meet me. It’s what they put in the magazines, you know.”

     “… I’m Light. And… magazines?”

     “Mhm! Like, you know, the gossip and fashion ones.”

     “Sorry, I don’t really read those.”

     She pouted slightly. “Oh, it’s okay. At least I know you’re talking to me for  _ me _ now. I’m an up-and-coming model.”

     “… Really?” He sipped his coffee and smirked. He had a story to tell Sayu when he got home… “Tell me more about it.”

     …

     It wasn’t too hard for Mello to find a place to stay in once he got to Japan. Just throw some dirt on yourself and say you’re lost, instant pity party.

     It was about time for this case to be solved, and he wasn’t going to mess around. This was real, and it was time for him to prove once and for all Kira’s identity.

     He knew exactly how he was going to do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I don't really take the time to respond to reviews. I do promise, I read each and every one of them. I'm just never sure what to say other than thank you so much.
> 
> Remember, Light's email (tsukigami1989@gmail.com) is still open! I respond to every single email he gets. You can talk to me, but if you don't specify that the message is for me, Light is going to reply. It's his account, after all.
> 
> But still. Thank you, everyone who ever reviews. I do read them. I do appreciate them, all of them.
> 
> And also. This chapter's a bit short, I know, but I just went back to school recently. And it's been taking most of my free time, so I couldn't really dedicate all of my energy to writing it. I have a periodic table to memorize! (Besides, Chapters 10 and 11 are gonna be doozies... :Y)


	10. I'd Like to Talk to You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The case is already getting more and more complicated.
> 
> But it's only just beginning.

     It was a shame that Light had to go home; Naomi was planning on talking to him, but she guessed she would have to do that tomorrow. It wasn’t like this was a case you could not show up to the investigation of, at least if you were invited to. And seeing as he appeared _right_ on one of their most incriminating pieces of evidence, it was suspicious not to.

     One of her main concerns, however, was the conversation she had with N. Granted, he didn’t say that L _was_ Kira- only that he was suspicious. But a possibility is still a possibility, as much as she had doubted it, and it wouldn’t be like her to let her bias impede their investigation. Nobody else was investigating him, so… she supposed she would help.

     “Ryuzaki… I had a thought.”

     "Yes?” He didn’t look up from his work. Work which entailed balancing gumdrops.

     “Who was my fiancé investigating before he died?”

     “... Excellent question. I think I remember, but… let me go check to make absolute certain.” His hands gripped the sides of his seat as he pushed himself out of it, landing on his feet, and making his way over to the many folders over by the table.

     “... Now that I think about it, why didn’t we just look at that in the first place?” Matsuda raised an eyebrow.

     “I didn’t think you’d like the answer…” He picked up the file. “Before his death, he was assigned to investigate the Yagami family. His suspect at the time was, in fact, Light.”

     Naomi felt like she shouldn’t be surprised about that, but there was something else that just disgusted her. “You kept important information from us because you thought we wouldn’t like the answer.”

     “Well, we’re putting cameras in his room anyway. It would have been overkill, and if he’s not our man, it would have just been in Kira’s favor.”

     “You’re ridiculous.”

     Ukita had left a while ago- they lost track of time, but it at least felt like a while- to exchange police station shifts with Soichiro. At this time, Soichiro had returned back to the room, and the second the door was shut behind him, Watari walked over to the spare room when he was sure nobody else needed his assistance.

     They were all passionate and hardworking people. They could figure out who Kira was…

     … No matter who it may be.

     “So…” L spoke, “your son is studying for entrance exams?”

     “Yes.” Soichiro answered quite quickly, especially for having just arrived. “I’m sure he’ll be fully dedicated to the case when he’s done.”

     “I had an idea. Mind if I run it by you?”

     …

     Watari shut the door behind him and looked at the bright white laptop screen. “You were right.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “The person that Raye Penber was assigned to at the time was the person we saw in the tapes the day he died. Furthermore, he’s on the investigation team with us.”

     For almost a minute, there was silence from the laptop. Then, with a noise that could have been a glitch in the voice changer or a small sigh from the person on the other end, he spoke.

     “Very well. What information about him do you think you could manage to get me? Even if it’s only basics, I can work off it from there.”

     “That depends on the approach you’d like me to take to get this information.”

     “It should go without saying that you don’t get it through L, or though a method that will draw his attention, if possible.”

     “I could either ask him to talk to you himself or give you the information I already have upfront.”

     “Is there a way that both would be viable? If you give me the information and he seems smart enough not to reveal that we’re communicating, then speaking with him would be the best option.”

     “I will see what I can do.”

     …

     It was the day of the test. Light had planned to arrive only a few minutes before it began, since he wouldn’t need to study- but everything had been messing with his mind so much that he really didn’t have the energy to focus. So… he showed up around the same time everyone else did, instead. He really hoped Kira wasn’t going to mess up his scores, that would be _terrible_.

     Luckily, he wasn’t too distracted in the middle of his studying, this time around. Something about the school environment made it easier for him to focus and set aside Kira temporarily. It was pretty safe, in his mind.

     Finally, it was time to put the studying materials away, and the test would begin. All right… question one seemed simple enough.

     “You there! Student number 162,” someone spoke as he walked past Light, “sit properly in your chair!”

_… Please don’t be who I think it is._

     Light turned his head slightly to look behind him and made eye contact with L.

_Oh. Great._

     …

     Well… he was a college student now, with a bright future and greatly fulfilled school life. He watched the cherry blossoms fall over everyone and just stood there. Sometimes people would talk to him, preemptively congratulate him. They all knew he was going to have the best score of the entire class.

     He was glad he made it this far, but… he still felt that underlying anxiety and loneliness, from being the only one who knew and saw what he did. But because he’d been thinking for a while, he decided that all of this worry was irrational. He was smart and he’d helped solve cases in the past; no matter what happened, he would find a way to catch Kira and protect the innocents who stood in his way, including him and his family. This day marked two new beginnings, the day he knew that Kira would be caught, and the day he graduated.

     He took a deep breath and smiled. The brief feeling of tranquility, though, was interrupted.

     “Light, I’d like to tell you something.”

     He sighed softly. “You really need to stop following me around, Ryu-”

     “Ryuga."

     “... Yeah.” He was getting tired of all these different fake names. It made no difference to L. He was likely Kira, unless he was mistaken. “ _Ryuga._ You need to stop following me around.”

     “Well, this is important.” He glanced around and lowered his voice. “What I’m about to say is very, very crucial, and I will not repeat myself."

     “Okay… just say it.”

     “You already know who I am at this point, don’t you?”

     “... Well, yeah.” He furrowed his eyebrows together, also being quiet in the process, even though most of the others were too busy talking amongst each other to hear... “You’re L.”

     “That’s obvious. I meant other than that.”

     Light blinked. No way. He didn’t mean…

     “Light Yagami, I am Kira.”

     His heart almost felt like it skipped a beat, and he just… stared, both out of shock and disgust. “You’re…”

     “Yes.”

     “But- why?”

     “Why _what_ , exactly?”

     “Why- why everything! Why me? Why you? Why-- how?”

     L sighed. “All right, let me just elaborate on why I’m telling you this. I realized you had a severe disadvantage, all things considered… so I wanted to give you all the information you would need to actually put up a fight and let you know who you’re up against.”

     “Why on Earth would you _want_ me to?”

     “If you didn’t, it would defeat the purpose of doing all this. I’m curious as to what will happen, and I don’t want to win too easily. It’s sort of like chess in a way, isn’t it?”

     “... You’re… you’re unbelievable.”

     “Oh, good. I was going for that.” He held out his hand. “By the way, I know you have the earpieces on you. I’d like them back.”

     … Light begrudgingly handed them over, though he kept the slip of paper in his pocket. “Fine.”

     “Wonderful.” Kira turned and walked away. “I’ll see you later, Light.”

     …

     Light couldn’t believe what happened that day. It almost felt like it didn’t, but he knew better than to just completely forget it. He couldn’t keep quiet about it, either, but he didn’t know who he could tell. What a _terrible_ situation he found himself in.

     Oh well. He still had a duty to the rest of the task force, despite them not knowing, and he still showed up. For them.

     Watari intercepted him before he could open the door. “Evening. I’d like to ask you something if you have the time.”

     … How many more people exactly were going to question him? Seriously. “Okay. What is it?”

     “There’s someone who’d like to speak with you.”

     “... The same person who talked to Miss Maki several days ago before I left?”

     “Yes.”

     … It couldn’t hurt. It seemed like, whoever this was, they were avoiding talking to L. He was hoping it was because they suspected L, rather than the idea that they might already be in contact with each other. “Lead the way.”

     They both entered the hotel room. He couldn’t help but notice that L was preoccupied with talking to someone else. How perfect of timing; it was almost like they were sneaking him in.

     Light quietly stepped inside the room Watari led him to. He felt a bit more comfortable in here than in the room with L, for reasons that were very obvious. Whomever was on the laptop couldn’t be worse than Kira _himself_ , even if they _were_ communicating with each other, right? At least, he hoped so… but at this point, he’d welcome anyone who would believe him.

     Light glanced around the room to make sure of its positioning. His back was to the door, he was standing between it and the laptop, and Watari was standing to his right. He could leave quite quickly if he needed to. Not that he would, but he liked having the emergency information there.

     After waiting and hearing no introduction from the computer, he spoke. “You wanted to talk to me?”

     For another few seconds the only sound that could be heard was a faint clicking. Finally, a voice came through.

     “Light Yagami. You aren't employed as a detective, and yet you've assisted in solving a few cases that the NPA couldn't. You seem to be a clever individual. So I'd like to ask your thoughts on the Kira case, particularly if you have any suspects.”

     The first thought that came to his mind was that this couldn’t be a coincidence. Soon after L confesses to being Kira, he’s asked by someone else, ‘who do you suspect?’. Just in case the worst possible scenario was true… “Well, it’s a little bit early in the case to be having any strong suspicions in particular.”

     “Not entirely. I have a few suspects, one stronger than the others, but I'd prefer if your answer was free of any bias that revealing my own might cause. Even if it's just a hunch, I'd like to hear your thoughts.” The clicking noise could still faintly be heard.

     Light couldn’t really tell what the noise was, considering it was coming through a voice changer. “Okay, I’ll tell you, but first I’d like to know who you are.”

     “I can explain a little bit about my identity, though I must request you mention none of this to L.”

     He hadn’t meant to agree so vehemently, but it slipped. “Oh, of course not.”

     ...

     Near studied the figure on his screen as he continued to set up a small city-esque structure made entirely of dice.

     He was sitting in a room at the Institute, one that was closed off and soundproofed for these kind of purposes. The usual orphanage wouldn’t have such places, but then again, those orphanages weren’t tasked with raising children like them.

     Light Yagami… He’d read over the file Watari had sent him a few times, just to make sure he understood it completely. He was a well rounded student, with grades putting him at the top of his class and old tennis championships displaying impressive athletic ability.  

     Considering he was also currently the prime suspect of the ‘Kira investigation,’ giving him too many details regarding his identity might be a mistake.

     However…

     Judging by the reaction he’d been given to the request he’d made, Light didn’t seem very fond of L. It wasn’t impossible that they had drawn similar conclusions, and if Light truly did suspect the detective, then his presentation as N might not go over well. Naomi, who he’d referred to as the name she’d chosen to introduce herself by, had more positive familiarity with a letter on a screen and a voice hidden through technology.

     If Light was suspicious of L, he wouldn’t have that same familiarity, and might even react negatively if he introduced himself as N. Perhaps, then, it would be better to give a name. Though if Light and Naomi were in contact, then the difference might be brought up. The woman had also displayed frustration about being left out, and it might be hard to get her to cooperate if she thought he was hiding information from her.

     It also probably wouldn’t do to add on that he was the next in line to be L.

     “My name is Near,” he began, steadily adding dice to the tower in front of him. “I am a detective who is also pursuing Kira. If you have questions that you want me to try to elaborate on, now is the time to ask them.”

     “First of all.” Light looked directly into the webcam, presumably trying to emulate eye contact with ‘Near’. “How much do you know about me already?”

     “Quite a bit. I asked Watari to give me your file, and I found a few things on my own while investigating Kira.”

     “So, Watari helps detectives other than L, too?”

     That caught him off guard for just a moment. He hadn’t expected Light to pick up on that, though it did bode well for the other’s deductive abilities.

     “Perceptive. Usually no, though this is a somewhat special circumstance.”

     “What’s the circumstance?” … He paused. “No, I have a better question. Do you suspect me? Is this an attempt to get an admission of guilt or are you just trying to get information?”

     “I’ve checked over your file. You are, frankly, the perfect suspect for Kira.” Another brief pause. “Which was part of the reason I began my investigation. The evidence pointing to you was… too perfect. It felt almost unnatural, and there were a few things I noticed that seemed off.”

     “I see.” He paused for a moment to think. “So, in other words, I’m such a high suspect that I’m not suspected?”

     “You’re suspicious enough that your suspicion level was in itself suspicious.” He paused and stared at the dice in front of him. He was going to run out of them soon. “Or, to phrase it another way, it feels more like somebody was laying evidence to point at you, as opposed to it naturally appearing as a result of your own actions.”

     He looked… somewhat relieved at that statement. “You really think so? I do have something to tell you, if you mean what you said.”

     “I do. There would have been no reason to contact you if I didn’t believe what I just said.” Near studied the image on the computer in front of him. No… He didn’t think this was Kira. “I would like to hear what you have to say, though.”

     …

     Light took a deep breath. L would probably… take drastic actions if he figured out about this, but he was desperate at this point. If this person really could prove his innocence and L’s guilt, then the Kira case would be finally over and he could go back to being a student. “I graduated recently, L showed up to talk to me afterward. He told me that…” He had to pause again. It wasn’t easy to say. “He admitted to me that he is Kira.”

     There was what could be described as a crash from the other end of the laptop, the clicking cascading before fading into silence.

     Light’s eyes widened, and Watari quickly went to stand next to the laptop. “Near? What happened? Are you okay?” Light stepped forward to stand next to the other, though he tried his best to stay quiet. He didn’t need to alert the other people outside of this room, not after what he just said. “Hello?”

     …

     It was a bit of an odd request, but Watari had asked Naomi to distract L with a conversation while Light was brought into the room. That couldn’t be too hard, he was prone to long winded explanations when he got really enveloped in what he was doing. Besides, she had something she wanted to bring up anyway.

     “... Excuse me. Ryuzaki.”

     “Hm? Yes?”

     “I have something to tell you."

     “I’m listening.”

     She paused. “I’m thinking of leaving the investigation team.”

     An unwanted side-effect of her sudden comment-- everyone else in the room was shocked by it, too. Not just him.

     “What? Why?” Aizawa stared at her. “We have so few people as it is.”

     “I just don’t feel comfortable working in a team where I feel like I’m not being given the whole story.”

     “None of us have the full story, Maki.” Ukita crossed his arms. “That’s why we’re here, we’re trying to figure out the whole story.”

     L put his thumb beneath his lip. “Is this about the conversation you had in the other room?”

     “What? No.” She sighed. “That’s not what I meant. I meant that I don’t like the fact that Ryuzaki’s been hiding information from us recently. Isn’t that just a little bit upsetting to any of you? Any of you at all?”

     Matsuda glanced down. “Well… I guess you’re right, but it’s not that bad. We’ve still been making progress, right?”

     “It doesn’t feel like it.”

     “Well- Miss Maki.” Mr. Yagami intervened with his own thoughts. “I understand, you have every right to be upset, especially considering what you’ve had to live with these past few days. But don’t you think we’ll catch Kira faster if we work together?”

     “I didn’t say I wanted to stop helping you.” She held her hands together, and her nails were starting to grip at them a little tighter. “I just wanted to start doing investigations on my own time.”

     “I don’t think that’d be the best idea. For now, at least.” L continued speaking. He appeared to be a lot calmer than some of the rest with his opinion. “Your input on this matter is going to be extremely integral to the case.”

     “How?”

     “Hm?”

     “How is my input on this going to help us find out anything other than the fact that you suspect Light? That’s already blatantly obvious, Ryuzaki. I get it. We all get it. You suspect him. He’s _right there_ on the screen.” She got up and gestured at the television. “You’ve been listening to my input and watching the same footage of my fiancé dying and Light doing nothing but schoolwork in his room for the past few days. When are we actually going to get anything done in this case? All you’ve done is make sure it doesn’t go forward!”

     … Everyone went silent for a few minutes.

     It was a little while before L spoke again. “I understand that you’re upset-”

     “Stop saying that! I am upset, but it doesn’t matter right now. I don’t care how I feel, I care about catching Kira and _that’s it_ . And right now, if you’re going to keep hiding information from me and just use me as some sort of database for information on Raye, then I’m leaving. And I’m going to actually get something _done._ ”

     “Miss-”

     “No. You know what? I’ve made up my mind. Goodbye, Ryuzaki.” She got up, grabbed her jacket, and almost slammed the door behind her when she left. Almost.

     …

     He had been about to set the last die on the top of the tower when Light spoke.

_He admitted to me that he is Kira._

     His hand shook and instead of neatly positing the die on top, he dropped it. He moved to grab it and-

     The entire tower fell down. For a moment, all he could do was stare blankly at the scattered dice in front of him, the once neat pile now lopsided and crooked.

     There had been… a part of him that hoped he was reading into things. A part of him that had hoped he was mistaken about where the signs were pointing, and that L was innocent. After all, if it was any other Wammy’s kid, the detective would have eventually settled on them and the case would have been closed, but to hear that his idol had actually _admitted_ to being Kira-

     “Near? What happened? Are you okay? Hello?” He looked back up at the screen, at the concerned faces, and he sighed. His suspicions about the worst case scenario were confirmed, and Mello was gone. He had to rely on these few individuals, and that meant not letting them think the worst.

     “I’m fine.” The voice changer would hide the sudden sharpening of his tone, the clipped manner he was speaking in. “That was somewhat unexpected. I didn’t think he would admit to it, but if he did- … Did he say anything else? Did he explain why he admitted that to you?”

     Light and Watari breathed a united sigh of relief.

     “Yeah, he did.” He put his hands to his sides. He apparently didn’t realize he was gripping the laptop. “He told me that he wanted me to know who I was up against, because… he doesn’t do this for a sense of justice. He keeps saying it’s like ‘chess’, and I’m supposed to be his opposing side. That’s why. So… long story short, he wants me to try and catch him, and he’s likely so caught up in it that he doesn’t know about anybody else investigating him. So you’re safe, but I’m under quite a few spotlights right now. He’s been… trying to frame me from the very beginning, probably for that reason.”

     Like chess.

     “He’s never done this out of a sense of justice,” he began as he brushed his hand through the rest of the standing dice. He’d start the tower over, build it from the ground up. “He admitted such before, through a screen, and I was one of the individuals listening. He told us that he only accepts cases that interest him.”

     He was treating it like a game. Near had his own issues with the idea of only taking interesting cases, but that wasn’t the worst thing L could do. Cases were still solved, criminals were arrested, it wasn’t such a big deal if that happened from a sense of justice or a sense of amusement.

     But this? This was too far.

     “It sounds like him,” he continued. The other ideas he had for suspects were tucked away, though he doubted he would need them. It was hard to beat an admission, though things would be much easier if Light had somehow managed to record it. Still, focusing all his energy on L would make things somewhat easier, though he still had one other issue.

     “... There’s something I feel I should warn you about. Though I am now certain that L is the Kira that’s been here since the beginning, I have reasons to believe there’s another individual with similar abilities.”

     “... Another Kira? L hasn’t mentioned anything to us about a second Kira. I’ll be on the lookout for that, then.”

     “I’m not sure that L knows about him yet,” he responded. “Either that, or he feels that bringing it up would get in the way.” Near honestly wasn’t sure, and contacting L directly was out of the question. “Watari, do you know what his thoughts are on this?”

     Watari nodded once, slowly. “He mentioned to me that he’s been noticing a strange pattern in the way Kira kills recently, but he wasn’t sure if it was meant to be misleading or not. That is all.”

     With the hand that wasn’t making steady progress on the new dice tower, he twirled a stray strand of hair. “In that case, it’s likely that he is aware and is simply withholding that information.”

     “Speaking of withholding information…” Light glanced away slightly, then back at the laptop. “Please don’t mention the confession to anyone else, but feel free to use it as a basis for building up your evidence. He has a pretty heavy threat above my head, and I really don’t want him to think he has to go through with it.”

     “I understand. I want L to know as little about this as possible. I won’t bring up the confession.”

     “Thanks. Well… he’s expecting me to be in the room with the other task force members soon, and I’m pretty sure he didn’t see me come in, so if I stay in here any longer it’s going to get suspicious.”

     “Understandable. Please go out and join them, then. This has been a very… helpful conversation.” He reached forward and flipped the button to hang up the call.

     L was Kira. There were no maybes about it anymore. Now the only question that remained was how to handle the situation. They had to create a solid case to prove L’s guilt, as well as keeping Light from appearing so guilty that L was able to pass off the crime onto him, and that only covered half of the case.

     The boy glanced around at the partially constructed tower in front of him. The first thing to do was make a plan. He could handle that. A hand closed around a die, and the faint clicking of plastic resumed.

     …

     “Well, I’m pretty sure the tapes should have arrived at Sakura TV by now. Are you ready?”

     Ryuk laughed. “Always ready.”


	11. The Second Kira

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A red chess piece is moved by a hand not belonging to L.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An hour early again!
> 
> ... I'm very tired.

     “Do you think that perhaps you might be going a bit far?”

     L sat in the bathroom with the shower running, taking the opportunity to speak briefly with Rem while the others thought he was cleaning his hair. It wouldn’t be long, and Rem knew that; they’d already gone through quite a bit of tea at this point. Apparently, nobody thought to question him bringing tea into the shower with him. Which was good for him.

     “A bit far?” He raised an eyebrow. “Since when did I pass a line?”

     “You can’t tell me you haven’t questioned Naomi and Light being called away for ‘private conversations.’ Why are you even allowing that?”

     He sighed. “Do you want me to tell you why so quickly? It would ruin it.”

     “I should have figured you had a reason. And I am curious. It doesn’t really make sense.” Normally she wouldn’t bother to question it, but considering she was being given tea, even if only for the duration of the ‘shower,’ she was in a decent mood.

     “Well, at this point, if you’ve been paying attention, you’d notice that quite a few recent heart attacks were not my own doing.” He reached up to put his thumb under his lip. “I’m waiting to see if _that_ Kira will make a move. If not today or tomorrow, I’ll make mine.”

     A second Kira. Rem didn’t pay much attention to the names L wrote in his Death Note; the entire game was just an example of how disgusting human nature was to her. Perhaps she should have gone with her first instinct and given the Death Note to-

     No. Those haunted by shinigami were doomed to misery, and that one had been through enough.  Still, another Death Note meant that there was another shinigami as well. She wondered who it was. A few options crossed her mind, but she remained silent on that matter.

     “What kind of move do you think this Kira will make?”

     “It depends. And that’s the most interesting part about this, in my opinion. All I know is that this Kira has definitely already made the Shinigami eye deal, and he’s purposefully targeting people that I would have chosen as well. Which means either this new Kira is a supporter, or he’s trying to get my attention and nobody else’s. Both, maybe. Of course… that plan is probably not going to work, if it’s the latter.”

     “Well, you’ve clearly already noticed him. Do you think somebody else will as well?”

     “Like I said, it’s obvious he made the eye deal. He’s been killing people without their names being broadcasted. Somebody’s bound to notice that pattern too, if not already. Hence, perhaps, the reason for these secret meetings?”

     “But wouldn’t it be more likely to an outsider that Kira became more powerful? It seems like a jump to think that an addition in abilities means an entirely separate one.” It would be obvious to L, of course, because he was the one doing the killings, but as far as she knew, humans didn’t have much information about Shinigami. At least, not much _accurate_ information. Besides, it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility. Even if he hadn’t made the eye deal himself, he still could.

     “Leaps of faith are how most of us do our work, you know. If we’re wrong, we just change our minds. So… someone out there is probably piecing together at least the basis for this asinine, yet entirely true theory.”

     “… Perhaps you put too much faith in your species,” she muttered, drinking the last bit of her tea.

     “Perhaps you have too little.”

     “I’ve seen nothing to think they deserve it.”

     “You seem to have a soft spot for Light, at least.”

     “Some shinigami are capable of pity.”

     “I vaguely remember having a similar conversation when we first met.”

     “You’re the one who brought it back up.” She glanced at the door. “Well, my reason for participating in this conversation is over. I’m leaving before you actually get in that thing.” With that, the shinigami simply phased through the door.

     …

     Watari cleared his throat. “N, I regret to inform you that Shoko Maki has decided to leave the task force and has begun doing her own investigation. You won’t be able to speak with her right now.”

     Near was silent, for a moment. Even the sounds of his toys were absent.

     “That might be a problem. Having both her and Light Yagami’s cooperation was ideal, considering if Light is under suspicion, it will be very hard for him to get any information.” The task force had no idea who he was. Though that meant his identity was safe for the time being, it also meant that any authority he might be able to muster was nonexistent.

     Still, perhaps if she wasn’t willing to work with L and his task force, she might still be willing to work with him. He should have figured out an alternate method to speak with her.

     He made a note to work something out with Light, just in case. Perhaps…

     “Watari, is there a way you could modify a laptop with communication capabilities for Light? I’d like to work out a way to remain in touch with him in case we can’t contact him this way.”

     “Of course. That can be taken care of, though I wonder what you plan on doing in regards to re-establishing contact with Maki.” They could just as easily call her Naomi, but it was, at this point, common courtesy to use someone’s alias rather than their real name. With Kira going around, their everyday usage was becoming quite popular.

     “I’ll figure something out.” He idly twirled a strand of hair as he thought. “A laptop might not work as well. I’m not sure if she’d accept it, considering I believe that’s how L communicated with her during their case.”

     Besides, he had to be careful. Watari had to work with L as well, and he couldn’t keep his cover if he was going out for every little thing. Near also had to take into consideration that Naomi wouldn’t want to work with Watari either, since the man was still part of the task force, which put an even larger gap between them.

     The laptops were out, so what else could they do? Emails weren’t secure enough, and even if they were, he didn’t have the woman’s email. He supposed he might be able to find it, but it would take a lot of effort, and again, he didn’t trust it enough. If L was keep an eye on her computer activity, then he’d see the correspondence and be able to track it back to the orphanage, which would be… bad.

     He couldn’t physically go there either. That was right out of the question, at least for the time being. Unlike Mello, he couldn’t pack a bag and leave. He’d need someone to go with him, and that wasn’t a viable option. Roger had to stay to run the orphanage, Watari couldn’t come to England just to get him. No, that wouldn’t work.

     Besides, he admittedly wasn’t sure he wanted to get that close. None of their files had pictures in them, for safety's sake. Granted, they’d never expected something like this, but it was accepted that the fewer people who knew any of the potential successors’ identities, the better.

     … He had an idea.

     “Watari?”

     “Yes?”

     “How difficult would it be for you to acquire Miss Maki’s phone number?”

     …

     It wasn’t very often that Light got to take a break, so sometimes he snuck one in when everyone else was asleep. It was dark, and he was resting at the edge of the couch, with his chin in his hand, weighing the possibilities of the future in his mind. On one hand, there was a lot of room for it to get better from here… after all, they did have a lot of evidence. On the other… a lot of possibilities for innocent people to die because of a childish man with a book.

     Not a fun game to be playing.

     He heard a knock at the door, and he looked up at it, raising an eyebrow. Who would be trying to visit…? Clearly not somebody who knew about the family’s sleep schedules. He peeked through the window to see who it was before answering…

     … Misa? They’d only met once, when she bought him an ice cream and they talked about themselves. How did she find his house? … Oh well… he hesitantly opened the door.

     “Good afternoon!” She immediately started, smiling, but she gasped when she saw who it was. “Oh, I know you! Hi, Light! It’s been a little while, huh?”

     “... How did you find my house?”

     “What? Oh, I didn’t do it on purpose… my ride bailed out on me, so I knocked on the first door I could find. Who knew you’d be here? I’m glad it’s you and not some weirdo!”

     “Yeah, you really do need to be more careful about that, considering… come in, sit down. I’ll see what I can do.”

     “Thank you so much!” She stepped inside. “Considering what, though?”

     “You know… radical Kira supporters.”

     “Whaaat? Kira and his supporters wouldn’t hurt me. They only hurt criminals, I would know.”

     “... You would know?”

     “Yeah!” She sat down and looked up at him. “... Don’t look at me like that. It’s not like I _am_ Kira. The guy who killed my parents was killed by Kira, so I kinda wanted to thank him.”

     It was quite obvious that she wasn’t Kira, really. But other than that, he didn’t feel like mentioning the fact that, potentially, Kira could kill his own parents. It was almost ridiculous how ironically opposite their situations were. “Oh. Okay. I guess that makes sense.”

     “Did I strike a nerve or something? What, you really don’t like Kira?”

     “I feel like I have grounds enough to justify not liking Kira, yeah.”

     “Huh. Oh, well- anyway. Thanks for letting me in!” She smiled. “You’re such a gentleman.”

     He opened his mouth to respond, but it was interrupted by his phone ringing. “Uh… just a second.” It was an unknown number, meaning it was probably L. As much as he hated to talk with him, it could be important, so he picked up.

_“Light. I hate to call you when you’re supposed to be sleeping, but I couldn’t help but notice you were out of your room. I’d like you to come down here.”_

_Right. The cameras. Damn._

     “What is it?”

     “Sakura TV has just received tapes from an unknown source claiming to be Kira. We have reason to believe they’re not lying… oh- and please, bring your father with you.” And he hung up before Light could say anything else.

     … He slowly lowered the phone. When would L have had the opportunity to send in tapes and then call him about it as if he didn’t know what was going on? Unless…

     “Is everything okay?” Misa tilted her head.

     “I need to go. I’m sorry, but I think you should find somewhere else to stay.”

     …

     Light had to get dressed rather hastily- as did his father- but they arrived at the hotel room as soon as they could. The only one missing was Maki, but he found out on the ride there from his dad that it was because she left. He could hardly blame her, though now the investigation was going to get a lot harder.

     L spoke almost as soon as they opened the door. “You haven’t missed much. So far, he’s proven his legitimacy by killing right on a promised schedule, and now he’s laying out his demands.”

     Both members of the Yagami family silently sat down, not wanting to interrupt anything that might be important to listen to. By the time it was all settled, Kira had just started making his statements.

_“... First of all, I require that all investigations of who I am are to end, and that includes L, who everyone knows is already paying attention- not only him, but all others, even freelancers, as well. When I am finally seen worldwide as justice, this will be treated as an unforgivable crime.”_

     So, he sees himself as above everyone. But by the look on L’s face… Light didn’t think this was him. It sounded more like Near’s theoretical second Kira was at work.

     …

     At this point in time, Naomi had actually built up quite a bit of information on her own. She managed to talk to Light and get information about the earpieces- and even the account of the bus jacking from his date, Yuri. If Light couldn’t speak because he was under surveillance, then she would get at least a bigger portion of the story from her.

     And she did. It only further confirmed her theory that Kira could kill through means other than a heart attack. Which reminded her- she hadn’t brought that up yet. Everything went far too quickly for that.

     Oh well. Light knew, and he’d probably mention it if she couldn’t. She had just been organizing what information she had gained when her phone started ringing. She hesitated, upon being faced with an ‘unknown caller’- but quite frankly, if it was anyone she didn’t want to talk to, she’d just hang up. She didn’t want to take any risks with not answering it, though…

     So she accepted the call and brought the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

     “Hello, Miss Maki. This is N. I was hoping to make this call under calmer circumstances, but I was just informed of an incident at Sakura TV. If you’re near a television you might want turn it to that station.”

     … That was not the introduction she was expecting to hear, but you didn’t need to tell her twice. She found the remote, turned on the television, and flipped through channels to find the station for Sakura TV. Many other channels already were giving off huge red flags- from dead representatives to those discussing the current events… and the outside of the building. She was wondering how she hadn’t noticed sooner, and she finally happened upon the channel.

     The word ‘KIRA’ was plastered boldly on the screen, in black and white, and a disgustingly familiar font.

     “... What did I miss?”

     “Currently, it seems as though Kira sent tapes to Sakura predicting the deaths of several corrupt news anchors. He’s making a lot of… bold declarations.”

     She bit her lip. “This doesn’t sound like L.”

     “It’s not.” Even through the voice changer, the tone was curt and cold.

     “Do you think this is the second Kira you had a theory about?”

     “I am certain it is.”

     “...” She propped her phone up between her shoulder and her ear so she could free her hands, and with that she grabbed her keys and immediately headed out the door.

     “... Miss Maki, what are you doing? That sounded somewhat like a door closing.”

     “Well, that’s good, because it _was_ a door closing.”

     “What are you doing?” There was a slight note of alarm.

     “I’m going there. Someone has to get information, and I know L’s not going to do it…”

     “There are already news broadcasters there. It would be safer if you remained at home.”

     “Hm.” She paused, but only for a moment. It was true that she might be acting irrationally, but she felt like there was no other choice. “That might as well be true, but broadcasting is all they’re doing. Somebody needs to go in and stop these tapes from being aired.”

     “You don’t have any authority to do that. Watari told me you stepped away from the task force; you’re a civilian. Even if you do go, you can’t make them stop or give you the tapes.”

     “Watch me. I don’t care if you think I can’t- I will stop this broadcast, and I won’t let Kira, whoever this one may be, get away with this.” She unlocked her car and got inside.

     “... I may have misspoke. I didn’t mean to imply that you were incapable- Miss Maki, I can hear the car starting, please stop.”

     She didn’t say anything. She felt like there was really nothing left to say- there was nothing that could be done to change her mind, and he didn’t seem like he was going to stop trying to convince her any time soon. But it’s not like he could really do anything to stop her.

     And Near, evidently, wasn’t saying anything else. Fine. She took a deep breath and started driving down the road, a bit more quickly than she should have. But there was no time to waste! Who knew what could happen in the few seconds she spared if she went slowly?

     Finally, he began to speak. “Miss Maki, I have reason to believe that the Second Kira can kill with only-”

     She didn’t hear the last part of that sentence- it was interrupted by a sharp gasp on her end when she realized the wheel had lost control of the car and it started to spiral out of control. The last thing Near would hear from her was that, and a loud crash as the vehicle hit a light pole dead on. The phone dropped from her shoulder onto the floor of the car.

     “Are you… still there?”

     No response.

     …

     He closed the laptop in front of him and brought his knees up his chest, wrapping his arms around them. There was, truly, only one way to interpret what had just happened.

     Naomi was dead. The timing was not a coincidence. Between that and the gasp, it was likely she was killed via a heart attack, and the car had crashed without her to control it.

     It was also unlikely that L would have done it. It would be easy to assume he had, but what would be the reason? Because she was outside his sphere of influence? No, he knew very well that Naomi was in contact with someone else, and Watari had told him that the entire task force had been present to see her quit. It would throw more suspicion onto him if he killed her.

     That left one option.

     He uncurled himself and stared at the towers of dice. He would have to knock them over again if he wanted to rebuild them, but for now, he had other toys to play with. The boy reached under his bed and dragged an old shoebox out. Opening it revealed several decks of bundled cards.

     He picked one up and pulled the rubber band off, picking up two cards to lay the framework for his card tower. Before he set them up, though, he flipped them over to cast a glance at the faces.

     The Chariot and The Hanged Man stared back.

     …

     The tapes were still going on, and Mr. Yagami had managed to sneak out in the middle of the mayhem. He caught Ukita before he was about to leave- they’d already witnessed a few police officers dying before they could enter the building, which meant whoever went was in danger. Drastic circumstances called for drastic measures…

     Which was why he had operated a truck and drove into the front entrance of the place to get the tapes himself. He succeeded in doing that, too- and he managed to call L on his phone, told him what was happening…

     And promptly had a heart attack on the phone with him.

     …

_Naomi Misora                              Car Accident_

_Checks the television and hears news about Kira. Decides to go to Sakura TV, takes her car. On the way there, she crashes into a light pole and is killed by the impact._

     There was quiet chuckling from the Shinigami. “So, any reason you only killed her? Why not the entire task force?”

     “That’s easier said than done. It’s not like they’re broadcasting who’s on the task force, Ryuk.” One hand held the Death Note, the other scratched absentmindedly at blond hair. “But she stood out, you know. Remember me telling you about Raye Penber? That was his fiancee. Not only that, but she used to be an FBI agent. No doubt she’d be somehow involved in this case… honestly, half of the reason I did that was to send a message.”

     “A message to who?”

     “To _whom_ , Ryuk.”

     “Shinigami don’t care much for human grammar. Are you gonna tell me or not?”

     “It’s a message to the rest of the task force.” He dropped his hand from his head, picked up a bar of chocolate, and took a bite out of it. “And to _whom_ ever might be paying attention.”

     “Hehehehe. You know, you’ve never actually told me why you use that thing. You a Kira supporter or something?”

     “Well, it might seem that way, which is exactly my point. But no, I don’t plan on helping Kira. I plan on catching him. I’ll make him think I’m on his side, and when his guard is down, I’ll shock him into making a mistake or two, just enough to convict him. I’ll take him in, and I’ll be infamously known as the kid who took down Kira himself.”

     Ryuk just eyed the human in front of him for a moment, his already wide grin stretching just a bit further. “You sure are determined to catch this guy, huh?”

     “You bet I am.” Mello grinned back at him. “I _will_ catch him, and I will finally be number one.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll probably rewrite the scene with Mr. Yagami at the end later... sorry it kinda sucks, I had limited time to finish it and I couldn't go and rewatch the episode yet to accurately write it.
> 
> If you check back some other day it might be better. :P


	12. [On Hiatus]

     Hey, sorry if you got excited for the next chapter, but I'm going on hiatus for a little while.

     This fic was meant to be fun, and recently it's starting to feel more like a chore. Which kinda sucks. I love you guys and all, but... I need some time, too, so I'm just going on a little hiatus. I'll be back as soon as I can get some old chapters rewritten and some new ones pre-written.

     If you want to ask me- or the characters for that matter- any questions(or even just make conversation, we would all love to say hi), feel free to drop a message by Light's email. (tsukigami1989@gmail.com)

     I hope that makes up for my absence. I check that email all the time, every day, so you're likely to get a reply ASAP.

     I'll take this time to reply to reviews on the fic, too. Thank you for understanding everyone, it's been fun so far.

 

          - JoeL


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